LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



DDDlDEflSSOl 



c h: apt e rs 



FROM THE 



UNWRITTEN HISTORY 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES; 



OR, 



THE INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CONFEDERATE SOL 

DIER IN CAMP, ON THE MARCH, IN THE GREAT 

BATTLES, AND IN PRISON. 



BY 

LIEUT. R. M. COLLINS, 

Co. B, 15th Texas Regiment, Granburt's Brigade, Cleburne's 
Division, Army of Tennessee. 



ST. LOUIS: 
NIXON -JONES PRINTING CO. 



c 






Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1892, by 

R. M. COLLINS, 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



TO THE MEMORY OF THE HEROES OF GRANBURY\S TEXAS 

BRIGADE, AVHO WENT DOWN TO DEATH IN DEFENSE 

OF THEIR HOMES, AND TO THOSE WHO YET 

REMAIN ON THIS SIDE OF THE RIVER, 

THIS BOOK IS REVERENTLY AND 

AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. 



conte:n^ts. 



^ Page. 

Chapter. 

I. Getting ready to fight for our rights ... 9 

II. From Clarksville, Texas, to Little Rock, Ark. . 24 

III. A Typical Mountaineer ^^ 

IV A set-to with the 5th Kansas at Parikeet Bluff, 

Ark *0 

V. Ordered to Little Rock — Dismounted — Infantry 
drill — Camp Nelson —Ordered to Arkansas 

Post 2 

VI. Battle of Arkansas Post "^ 

VII. After the surrender — A singing match — On 

board boats 

VIII. Trip up the great river — One of our men shot by 

the guard at Belmont, Mo '^8 

IX. At Columbus, Ohio — Lunched by Mrs. A. G. 

Thurman — In prison ^^ 

X. Governors Todd, Bright and Andy Johnson visit 
our prison — Removed from Camp Chase to Ft. 

93 
Delaware 

XI. From Pittsburg to Ft. Delaware — At Philadelphia 
on Sunday — Mad and mobbishly disposed 

Quakers ^^^ 

XII. On our way to Dixie — Sea-sickness — Exchanged 

at City Point ^ '^^ 

XIII. At Richmond, Va.— Ournew suit . . • ^-0 

XIV. At the home of our boyhood — Some Tennessee 

sirls knock a ton of conceit out of us with a 

126 
bouquet 

XV. At Tulahoma and Wartrace, Tenn.— Bragg's 

retreat ^^^ 



6 CONTENTS. 

Chapter. Page. 
XVI. Tennessee moonshiner — Chickamauga campaign 

opens 139 

XVII. Bragg abandons Chattanooga — McLemore's Cove 

failure 147 

XVIII. The battle of Chickamauga 154 

XIX. A clay on the field of Chickamauga after the battle 160 
XX. Six weeks in front of Chattanooga — Hell's Half 

Acre 167 

XXI. Battle of Missionary Kidge 174 

XXII. Retreat — Battle of Ringgold Gap ... 184 

XXIII. Winter of '63 at Tunnel Hill — Miss Mary A. H. 

Gay 192 

XXIV. Battle with snow-balls — Another furlough — The 

Georgia campaign 200 

XXV. The terrific battle of New Hope Church . . 209 

XXVI. Pine and Kenesaw Mountains — Gen. Johnston re- 
moved — Gen. Hood succeeds him. . . 217 
XXVII. Hood goes on the war-path — Battle of Peach Tree 

Creek 227 

XXVIII. Hood's Tennessee campaign — Spring Hill fail- 
ure — The battle of Franklin .... 239 
XXIX. Battle of Nashville, Tenn.— Disastrous results — 

The retreat — Kicking Jim and us . . . 250 
XXX. Gen. Cheatham — Crossed the Tennessee— Our 
boats — Ordered to North Carolina — The boys 
do up Montgomery on the way .... 264 
XXXI. From Montgomery, Ala., to Bentonville, N. C. . 277 
XXXII. In the swamps about Bentonville — Find a barrel 

of brandy 289 

XXXIII. The last days of the Confederacy — On our way 

home — Wreck, narrow escape .... 300 

XXXIV. Another wreck — From Nashville to New Or- 

leans — Have a royal time in the grand old city 311 
XXXV. Broke bread and eat salt with Doctor Hamilton 

and Miss Sallie — Home 322 



PKEFACE 



To send forth this book to the readmg pub- 
lic without some sort of preface would be 
doing violence to a very ancient custom, 
^'a custom more honored in the observance 
than in the breach." We did not write this 
book for pleasure nor pastime, but to con- 
tribute our mite in the direction of getting into 
cold type that part of the history of the great 
war between the States, from 1861 to 1865, that 
is recorded only in the memories of the men and 
officers of the line, and if we succeed in enter- 
taining the reader for an hour or two in our 
descriptions of great battles or pathetic scenes 
incident to the life of a soldier, or cause a smile 
to dance on the face of the old or young, like 
sunlit shadows chasing each other on the wave- 
lets of a mountain lake, we will have done well. 

The Author. 



CHAPTER I. 

MAKING UP A COMPANY AND GETTING READY 
TO " FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS." 

In the month of February, 1862, the clash of 
arms and the tramp of mailed warriors came 
ringing down through the valleys of the Indian 
Territory, and struck the young American of 
^North Texas full in the face. The Confed- 
erates under Gen. Ben McCulloch, and the 
Federals under Gen. S. R. Curtis, were having 
a regular set-to, and the idea of the Yankees 
heading for Texas soil to despoil our fair 
homes, insult our women and eat up the sub- 
stance of the people was just a little more than 
we proposed to submit to. 

Decatur, our home, was quite a small town 
then, and Wise County had only about 200 
voters, and all those who were not school 
teachers or clerks in stores were cowboys. 
G. B. Pickett was commissioned to raise a 
company, and then commenced the rushing to 
and fro getting things in shape to enlist, go to 



10 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

the wars and get honor, glory and some im- 
mortahty. The day was set Saturday for the 
enrolling of names and organization of the 
company, and m they came on their little 
fingertail, frosty-necked, calico Spanish ponies, 
all clamorous to get into the cavalry service. 
A company of a hundred men was made up. 
G. B. Pickett was elected Captain, Tom Rob- 
erson 1st, "W. A. King 2nd and F. J. Barrett 
3rd Lieutenants. Of the non-commissioned 
officers we only remember a big red-headed 
fellow by the name of G. W. Rodgers, a 
school teacher, who was made Orderly Sergeant. 
After the organization, and lots of Dexter' s 
best had been put under their jackets, the re- 
mainder of the day was put in in cavalry move- 
ments round and round the Public Square. 

While the company was made up of a 
very nice lot of young men, boys and mid- 
dle-aged men, it did not strike us as having 
very much the appearance of N. Bona- 
parte's Old Guard. The writer was a clerk 
in the dry goods store of Howell & Allen, 
and had not put his name down yet. In 
fact, he felt much disposed to await develop- 
ments before putting himself in a position to be 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. ~ 11 

offered up on the altar of our young Confed- 
eracy. Fact is, we had the post-office in our 
house, and had free access to such papers as the 
ISTew York Tribune, 'New York Herald, Mis- 
souri Republican, Brown low's Knoxville Whig, 
Louisville Journal, Cincinnati Times, etc., and 
we read them all. We also read the speeches 
of the Southern members in Congress and Ben 
Wade's great speech, and we felt it in our very 
bones that there was going to be a big fight 
and lots of people hurt and hurt badly; and 
besides all this, the Southern States only had 
about eight million people, and four million of 
these were negroes, while the Northern States 
had about eight million white folks, and in fig- 
uring on it we could not figure out how we were 
going to whip two to one ; and in addition to all 
this, we did not then and do not to this good 
day, believe in the doctrine of peaceable seces- 
sion of any of the States, but we believed in the 
right to rebel, and this explains why we will in so 
many places in these reminiscences refer to the 
Confederates as rebels. We were a rebel simple 
and pure, and expected when the war ended to 
be treated as such by the United States govern- 
ment. 



12 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

But we must quit this line and get back into 
the unwritten history. It is that field we pro- 
pose to cultivate for our own amusement as well 
as that of our friends. 

After the organization of our company until 
the order to march was received all hands were 
busy getting things in shape to take the field, 
and the people either from pure patriotism, or 
fear of the consequences of resistance, opened 
their doors to the boys. Merchants piled out 
their clothing, hats, boots and shoes, and men 
owning herds of horses were willing to give 
them up, so that it was only a few days until all 
the boys were mounted. The martial spirit 
seemed to have drowned out all other spirits 
except Dexter's best. Music was in the air. 
Every young lady in town and country was 
warbling the ^'Bonnie Blue Flag," ''Dixie" 
and the ''Secession Wagon" as sweetly as 
mocking birds. 

As to arms to fight with, the variety in kind, 
caliber and quality, is beyond our powers of 
description. Some had double-barrelled and 
some had single barrelled shot-guns ; some had 
squirrel rifles and some had the old buck and 
ball muskets. In one thing only were all armed 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 13 

alike, and that was with big knives. These were 
made for us by the blacksmiths, out of old 
scythe blades, plowshares, cross cut saws, or 
anything else that could be had. The blade 
was from two to three feet in length, and ground 
as sharp as could be. The scabbards for these 
great knives were, as a rule, made of raw hide, 
with the hairy side out, and they were worn on 
the belt like a sword, and doubtless many trees 
in the pine forests over in Arkansas show to this 
day the marks of these knives, for we used to 
mount our ponies and gallop through pine thick- 
ets, cutting the tops from young pine trees, 
practicing so that we could lift the heads of the 
Yankees artistically as soon as we could catch 
up with them. 

About the first of March, 1862, orders were 
received for the company to report at once at 
Dallas. After remaining there some weeks it 
moved up to McKinney. Here the 15th Texas 
Cavalry was organized by electing Geo. H, 
Sweet, of San Antonio, Colonel ; W. K. Mastin, 
of Dallas, Lieutenant-Colonel, and "W. H. 
Cathey, of Denton, Major. About the 10th of 
March the regiment w^as ordered to report at 
Camp McKnight, near Clarksville, Texas. 



14 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

On the 15th of March the war fever as well 
as the fear that the ladies would present us with 
a hoop skirt struck the writer and ran his pulse 
up to 185 to the minute in the shade, and Capt. 
G. B. Pickett swore us into the Confederate 
service for one year. We put in about ten days 
getting in fighting trim. We were confronted 
first by the difficulty of procuring arms. We 
rustled up an old gun barrel that had doubtless 
served its time as a squirrel rifle, as it ran about 
120 bullets to the pound. Amos Grider stocked 
it for us, and we had him train it all distances as 
far as it would reach, with the wind, against the 
wind and at right angles to the wind. The 
barrel was about four and a half feet long, and 
the pecan ramrod was about fifteen inches longer 
than the barrel, and kinked downward at the 
end like we have seen a dog do his tail when 
suffering from the effects peculiarto and border- 
ing on the ragged edge between a shy and a 
wild. Uncle Amos, as he was called, was not 
only a cunning worker in w^ood but was nearly 
related to old Vulcan and therefore, we had him 
make our big knife. On the morning of March 
25th, W. C. Burris, H. H. Gaines, Dude 
George and the writer left Decatur bound for 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 15 

our command at Clarksville. Pretty soon after 
we arrived at Camp McKnight the regiment was 
moved to a camp some three miles east of 
Clarksville. Miss Belle Gordon, a pretty young 
lady, lived immediately on the road from our 
camp to the city. She was a fine performer on 
the piano, and as hers was the first instrument 
of the kind the boys had ever seen they kept 
her playing night and day. In our mind's eye 
we can see her yet as she paws the ivory and 
sings the " Bonnie Blue Flag," with her great 
brown eyes turned towards that country where 
good soldiers all go. 

Our days at Clarksville, when it was not 
raining, were spent very pleasantly. The 
variety was fairly good — some company drill, 
some regimental drill, and some guard duty. 
Rev. J. W. P. McKinzie preached to us several 
times. He was a grand man, but like a major- 
ity of the preachers of that day, he was on the 
fight. While here, from some cause, our regi- 
ment was reorganized. Our Captain, G. B. 
Pickett, was made Major, Lieut. Flavins J. 
Barrett was promoted to the Captaincy of our 
company. A. Faulkner, now Gen. Passenger 
and Ticket Agent for M. K. and T. Eailway, 



16^ UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

was elected Captain of Company '' G," beating 
Dr. Harper, of Denton County. Capt. Faulkner 
had been in the State only about one year prior 
to the war, hailing from the State of ^ew York, 
but he was a sound Democrat, a rebel through 
and through, a fine specimen of young American 
manhood, and as brave as Julius Caesar or any 
other of the Csesar boys — a perfect specimen 
of an American volunteer soldier. 

The following account of the presentation 
of an elegant silk banner to his company, by 
the beautiful and accomplished Miss Ida De 
Morse, is quoted from the Clarksville (Texas) 
Standard of April 18, 1862 :— 

Camp Pickett, April 17, 1862. 
Editor Clarksville Standard: 

The company commanded by Capt. Faulkner, 
Col. Sweet's regiment, was on Saturday last at 
their battalion ground, and in the presence of 
some eight or ten hundred spectators, com- 
plimented by the young ladies of Clarksville 
with a handsome company flag. A circum- 
stance of which we all feel not a little proud, 
and of which we desire the world in general, 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 17 

and our friends at home in particular, to be 
apprised. At the special request of the sub- 
scriber, Miss Ida De Morse and Captain Faulk- 
ner have furnished us with the addresses 
delivered upon the occasion, and if you will give 
them place in the columns of your valuable 
paper you will confer upon our company a very 
appreciable favor. 

Respectfully, 

D. L. McGary, 
Orderly Sgt. Faulkner'' s Co. 



MISS IDA DE morse's ADDRESS. 

Q-entlemen and Soldiers: 

This is no ordinary occasion, and it is with no 
common feelings that I appear before you, a 
band of brave and gallant men, to present to 
you the emblem of our country's nationality 
and independence, beneath whose folds you are 
to conquer peace or fill a warrior's grave. The 
records of the past justly boast that '^ Ther- 
mopylae had her messenger of death ; the 
Alamo had none." You have a character to 
sustain, and a reputation to support — a Mc- 



18 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

Culloch, a Travis, a Terry, and a host of God- 
like dead, whose actions we expect you to 
imitate, whose names you must never sully. 

The banner I present to you to-day is the 
banner of a people struggling to be free from 
the most loathsome despotism that ever was 
sought to be imposed upon a people who 
know their rights and knowing, dare maintain 
them. 

For the achievement of our independence you 
have torn yourself from those ties intimately con- 
nected and interwoven with the affections of the 
heart, perhaps imprinted the last kiss upon the 
lips of your cherished child — clasped to a crushed 
heart the form of a devoted wife, and cast one 
longing, lingering glance to a home that is your 
pride, and laid yourselves upon your country's 
altar, peradventure a voluntary sacrifice in the 
cause of freedom. If the prayers of woman, 
will avail with the God of battle, to guard and 
protect in the hour of danger, and restore you 
to the embraces of those your heart holds dear, 
if our sympathies and tears, can cheer and nerve 
a soldier's heart, ours shall be thine. We are 
a people that can never be conquered when 
such sacrifices are made for the maintenance 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 19 

of our infant republic — future generations will 
deify you, and your names will be a glorious 
legacy to those that follow you. 

Take then this banner, make it virtually the 
banner of the free, follow it mto the very jaws 
of destruction ; either to a glorious death or a 
glorious victory, and if counted amid the unre- 
turning braves, make it your martial cloak 
without regret, and proudly fill a warrior's 
grave, die with your face to the foe and with 
the exclamation that — 

If there be on this earthly sphere 

A boon or gift that heaven holds dear, 

'Tis the last libation that liberty draws 

From the heart that bleeds and breaks in her cause. 

While it breaks our hearts to see you leave 
we bid you Godspeed on this glorious errand. 
Our prayers will follow you and our tears will 
encircle your pathway wherever you go. All 
that we demand in return is that you — 

Strike till the last armed foe expires, 
Strike for our altars and our fires, 
Strike for the green graves of our sires, 
God and our native land. 



20 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CAPTAIN FAULKNER'S RESPONSE. 

Miss Ida De Morse: 

I am not much accustomed to public speak- 
ing, nor can I express my feelings on this occa- 
sion. But for myself and my company, from the 
depths of my heart, I thank you for this beauti- 
ful flag. We are, as you have truly said, a 
band of brethren, just entering upon a perilous 
campaign, but in defense of as sacred a cause 
as ever engaged the energies of a nation, and 
the knowledge that we bear with us the sym- 
pathies of the kind and beautiful of our land, 
will but nerve our arms for harder blows so 
long as we remain upon the field of action. 
But in the fullness of sincerity, I pledge you 
that just so long as the minions of that north- 
ern government, which has threatened our peo- 
ple with the chains of bondage, shall continue 
to desecrate our soil with their footprints, just 
so long shall this Bonnie Blue Flag continue to 
wave over the heads of our brave men. And 
rather than permit it, for a moment, to hang 
trailing in the dust, or see its beautiful folds 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 21 

stained with dishonor, it shall be dyed with the 
best blood that "chambers in our hearts." 

If recent advices from the seat of war be 
reliable, already has the clash of arms been 
heard ringing through the great valley of the 
Father of Waters. Thousands of the north- 
ern foe now lie clasped in the cold embrace of 
death, other thousands have surrendered their 
arms and as prisoners in the hands of our 
brave brethren, are now begging for that 
mercy which they in the hour of their tem- 
porary success seem never to have remembered. 
The Genius of Yictory is once more with the 
banner of the South. 

So may it ever be. Other engagements must 
soon follow, and it is devoutly wished that our 
regiment may be allowed to participate. For — 

Never lovelorn youth in lady's bower, 
Did pant for the appointed hour 
As we, until before us stand 
The Lincoln leaders and their band. 

And now, Miss Ida, hoping that when this 
grim-visaged war shall have smoothed its 
'' wrinkled front," when the war hounds of Lin- 
coln shall have been driven back to their 



22 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

northern kennels, and when our country 
rearing her proud crest amongst the greatest 
of earth's powers, shall be recognized and ac- 
knowledged as the chosen guardian of the ark 
of human liberty, that to us may be permitted a 
return to our homes, and a re-union in peace 
with the loved ones we leave behind. For my- 
self and for the troop I have the honor to 
command, I again tender to you our sincere 
thanks for this Bonnie Blue Flag. 



While at Clarksville the 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th 
and 18th Texas regiments of cavalry arrived. 
And when these six regiments, six thousand in 
all, were strung out in line of battle on the 
prairie, it just appeared to our boy eyes that w^e 
had men enough to whip the United States, 
with Canada and Mexico thrown in for good 
count, and we were really uneasy for fear the 
rebels would clean up the Yankees before w^e 
got a taste of the war. Us boys were all puffed 
up as to our numbers, and it was no uncommon 
thing to hear some of them in camps giving 
such commands as ''Attention, World! By 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 23 

nations right wheel into line, m-a-r-c-h ! " At 
the beginning of the war young Texas in the 
saddle was regarded as a whole set put to- 
gether in thirds, one-third man and bell spurs, 
one-third gun, pistol and knife, and one-third 
pony. 




24 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTEE II. 

MARCH FROM CL ARKS VILLE , TEXAS, TO LITTLE 
ROCK, ARKANSAS — REORGAIS'IZATION AND 
RAID INTO IZZARD COUNTY. 

About the 10th of April orders were received 
for our command to move at once to Corinth, 
Miss. The great battle of Shiloh, as called by 
the Confederates, and by the Federals the 
battle of Pittsburg Landing, having been fought, 
resulting disastrously to the Confederates. We 
moved at once, and the march from Clarksville, 
Texas, to Pine Bluff, Ark., with such a large 
body of raw cavalry, was a pretty rough intro- 
duction into the pomp and circumstance of so 
called glorious war. It rained on us quite every 
day during the march, and as each company had 
from two to four wagons, in which the extra 
trumpery of the soldiers was transported, our 
train was a big thing to move, to say nothing of 
six thousand raw, green and exacting Texans, 
mounted on horses that knew about as much 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 25 

about how to shift and make the best of a 
soldier's life as they did. The rivers were all up 
booming, and the roads were simply bottomless. 
We remained some days at Pine Bhiff. The 
clouds rolled away, and an Arkansas April 
sun came out, and besides affording us an op- 
portunity to dry our clothing and bedding, it 
dried the rawhide scabbards of our big knives, 
rendering them worthless, because they fit as 
tight as the bark on a black jack, and were as 
hard to draw as a nigger's eye teeth. We 
threw them in the Arkansas River. After a few 
days we were moved up to Little Rock, and 
went into camp out near St. John's College, 
By this time the measles had broken out in 
camps, and the supply seemed to be sufficient 
to go round. While here another reorganiza- 
tion of our command became necessary, because 
of the Confederate conscript law, which let out 
all over thirty-five and under eighteen years of 
age. In this election Maj. G. B. Pickett was 
made Lieutenant-Colonel, Geo. H. Sweet was 
re-elected Colonel, and W. H. Cathay was 
made Major of the 15th Texas Cavalry, and W. 
C. Burris and the writer were elected lieuten- 
ants of Company '' B," vice W. A. King and 



26 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

Tom Kobertson, who were let out and went 
home to Texas, by reason of being over thh^ty- 
iive years of age. 

About May the 15th, Gen. T. C. Hmdman, 
an ex-member of Congress from the State of 
Arkansas, was made aMajor-General and put m 
command of all the troops west of the Missis- 
sippi. His first order on taking command was 
to burn all the cotton on the Arkansas River; 
and for days the black smoke from the burning 
cotton bales all up and down the river ascended 
towards heaven as a burnt offering to the gods 
of war, and the folly of a foolish people, who 
thought that cotton was king, and that by burn- 
ing it and keeping it as much as possible out of 
the hands of the Yankees, they would be forced 
to acknowledge the independence of the South- 
ern Confederacy, just as if the world was de- 
pendent on the Southern States for material out 
of which to make clothing. This was about as 
foolish as passing a lav>r exempting from service 
in the army all those who were owners of so 
many negro slaves. While at Little Rock the 
service was light, as we were not required to 
drill nor do much guard duty. About the 
middle of June a big St. Peter burley-looking 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 27 

Arkansas Brigadier-General by the name of 
Hust, was put in command of our six regiments 
of Texas cavalry and ordered on a raid up to- 
wards Bates ville, where the Yankee army was, 
under command of General Curtis. Our com- 
mand consisted of the 12th Texas Cavalry, 
commanded by Col. W. H. Parsons ; 14th, com- 
manded by Col. M. T. Johnson ; 15th, by Col. 
Geo. H. Sweet; 16th, by Col. Bill Fitzhugh ; 
17th, by Col. Taylor, and 18th by Col. Darnell. 
At Searcy was the first sign we struck of the 
ravages of war. A small command of Yankee 
cavalry had been on a raid that far down and 
had been sailed into by some Texas cavalry. 
They had torn down some fencing and burned a 
few dwellings. It seemed strange to us that a 
civilized people would have so little respect for 
other people's property as to destroy it in 
that way, but we learned later on that war 
meant not only to kill, but to destroy prop- 
erty. On we go as jolly as larks, confi- 
dent that w^e had the biggest army in the 
world. Fact is, five thousand Texas cavalry 
strung out did make a long line, when the fact 
is considered that each pony had not only to 
have walking room in the road, but had to have 



28 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

plenty of kicking room, to say nothing of the 
room required for our long squirrel rifles and 
ramrods. At Col. Kemper's on Flat Woods, in 
Izzard County, we struck a country where 
the Federals had been foraging around and the 
citizens commenced gathering in and telling us 
what they had done in the way of taking their 
corn, wheat, horses and so on, and the bristles 
commenced to raise on our backs and w^e were all 
hot under our collars and just spoiling for a 
fight. Some local scouts came in and reported 
a party of Federals some twenty miles away, 
across "White Hiver, threshing wheat. General 
Rust took five regiments and went down toward 
Batesville and crossed the river with a view of 
cutting them off, while Col. Sweet, with the 
15th Regiment, marched down Eocky Comfort 
with orders to remain on the river at the mouth 
of this creek until further orders were received. 
We arrived at this point about sundown. The 
citizens reported the Federals just across the 
river. Col. Sweet called a council of all his 
captains and lieutenants to take a vote on 
disobeying orders and crossing the river and 
taking in this outfit of Federals. We all voted 
to disobey orders, cross over the river and sail 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 29 

into them. It was very dark. Our guide 
piloted the head of our cokimn down to the river 
and then up the road quite a half mile to a shoal 
where we could ford it, and then down the other 
side to a point opposite where we had gone in. 
The water between the going in and going out 
places was deep enough to float a steamboat. 
On we go quietly expecting every minute to 
find them. All at once the head of our column 
met an obstruction and the word was whispered 
down the line: " Here they are," but it turned 
out to be our own men. General Rust having 
crossed the river and was coming up on the 
other side. As soon as we found out the sit- 
uation the head of our column was turned and 
recrossed the river, but quite a number of our 
out-fit thought Rust's command were Yankees 
and that we were retreating and were too much 
scared to make the circuit around the deep water 
and went straight across. It was a miracle how 
they all got out, but their ponies seemed to 
swim like fish. We camped there all night 
and returned to Flat Woods next day, crossing 
the limpid waters of Rocky Comfort one hun- 
dred and thirty-three times in going twenty 
miles, and nine out of every ten of our horses 



30 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

were barefooted. The outfit of Federals doubt- 
less heard of our commg and made good their 
escape to Batesville. Gen. Rust Avith all the 
command except about one hundred and fifty of 
our regiment returned to the neighborhood of 
Little Rock. We were left for the purpose of 
keeping our eyes on Gen. Curtis' command and 
preventing it from foraging over the country. 
IS^ow Izzard county is a broken mountainous 
country and the people were as ancient, simple 
and honest as were the citizens of East Tennessee 
a half century ago. Men, boys, old women and 
pretty rosy-cheeked girls all went barefooted 
alike. The exception to the rule was to find a 
family that put on anything like style. They 
were all agreed that a Texas cavalryman was a 
hero. Irish potatoes, and chickens, were ripe and 
for good milk and butter it was many furlongs 
in the lead of any country we struck during the 
war. We had a royal time while it lasted. We 
were cut off from the world and had no concep- 
tion of what was in store for us in the next two 
years, but we put in all the bird-singing month 
of June in rollicking around over them high 
mountains, living high and making love to them 
pretty, honest Arkansaw girls. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 31 



CHAPTEK III. 

A TYPICAL MOUNTAINEER OF THOSE DAYS — A 
DASH INTO knight's COVE — ATTACK ON GEN. 
CURTIS' OUTPOST AT BATESVILLE. 

One bright Sunday afternoon our scouts 
came in and reported a party of Federals cut- 
ting and stacking wheat in Knight's Cove, 
some twelve or fifteen miles away, down on the 
river in the direction of Batesville. 

Now Knight's Cove is one of those pict- 
uresque little valleys nestling among the hills 
of Arkansas, which the people of those delight- 
fully rural retreats called '^ coves." It be- 
longed to a man named Knight, and he was 
supposed to be a Union man. The cove or 
valley occupied about 500 acres, had all been 
planted in wheat, and the Yankees had gone in 
there and cut and stacked it and Avere getting 
ready to begin threshing. We dashed into the 
cove by fours, or like a goat goes to war, but 
we were again doomed to disappointment. 



32 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

The Federals had gone, and we were justabont 
ready to conclude that the war would come to 
an end before we got a taste of the fight, and 
that we would have to return home without any 
honorable scars, laurels, bruised arms, or any- 
thing to tell as to how we had cleaned up the 
Yankees, horse, foot and dragoon. 

About this time Capt. A. Faulkner, com- 
manding Company G, found himself afoot, but 
being a young man of infinite resources, he did 
not remain in that fix many days. He secured 
leave of absence, borrowed one of the boy's 
horses, and lit out hunting for somebody who 
had one to sell. Away over across the river a 
very enthusiastic, well-to-do Union man lived, 
and while he lived very near the Federal lines, 
yet the Captain went to see him and made him- 
self very agreeable, faring on the best grub and 
drink the old fellow could put up, all the while 
playing that he was a Federal captain and be- 
longed to the Union army at Batesville. This 
was honor enough for the old Union fellow. 
His cup of joy was full, and he was prolific in all 
sorts of hard stories about the meanness of the 
rebels in his section. The Captain played him 
up to the right point, and betore any of his 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 33 

strings played him false he suggested to the old 
fellow that he was quite afoot, and that the 
happy thing would be for him to sell him a good 
horse. The old gentleman jumped at the 
opportunity to do a patriotic deed, and ordered 
his fine black stallion brought out — a really 
magnificent animal. Faulkner agreed at once 
to the jDrice asked, gave him a voucher on the 
Federal Quartermaster at Batesville, threw 
himself into the saddle, and did not stand on the 
order of his going, but went at once. The de- 
ception was a success, and was right, because 
in war, and for the good of the State. 

Captain Faulkner being mounted now, to a 
queen's taste, and being a restless, industrious 
soldier, suggested to Col. Sweet that he be per- 
mitted to select fifty choice men from the com- 
mand, and those best mounted, and organize a 
rifle company. To this the Colonel readily 
agreed, for notwithstanding Col. Sweet had all 
along in every way possible done all in his power 
to retard Faulkner's advancement, he was being 
forced to recognize in him the elements of a 
successful soldier. He had the dash of a 
Francis Mai^ion, the courage of a mad Anthony 
"Wayne, and the power to impart it to men under 



34 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

his command, and had his lot been cast in the 
army of Tennessee or Virginia, he would have 
come out of the army a Major-General. Like 
all soldiers, he held that a man would not die 
nor be killed in the army until his time came. 

The service we were doing for the Confed- 
eracy was too tame for our hot Texas blood, 
and the boys were clamorous for a set-to and a 
closer acquaintance with the Yankees and their 
prowess in battle. Something had to be done. 
"We were fat, sleek, and full to running over 
with fight. So one bright Sunday morning 
about the 20th of June, Col. Sweet called us in- 
to line and made us a speech. He said : " We 
have been waltzing up and down these mount- 
ains, across these valleys, eating new Irish po- 
tatoes and spring chickens just long enough, 
and we are going to punish the enemy this very 
day, even if we have to go right into Batesville 
and pull old Gen. Curtis' beard till he gets mad 
enough to entertain us in a war-like manner." 
At this the boys all yelled. The writer was de- 
tailed and put in command of fifteen men as an 
advance guard, with orders to keep from a half 
to three-quarters of a mile in advance, and off 
we moved on a kind of country road right down 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 35 

the backbone of a rocky, huckleberry, chestnut 
mountain, towards the enemy. Our advance 
guard out-traveled the command, we halted un- 
der the shade of a grand old chestnut tree and 
threw our leg over our pony's neck to rest. In 
our front was a log cabin, with only two holes 
in it, the *' front" door and chimney. It was 
surrounded by a four-rail fence. Down across 
the road, on the mountain side, was the 
calf pen. The old man came out, and he was 
a full-grown specimen of a mountain boomer. 
We at once recognized him as the prototype of 
the kind we had seen browsing around loose on 
the spurs of the Blue Ridge, in one of the up- 
per counties of East Tennessee. He was of the 
regulation build, red-headed, freckled faced 
and ^' heavy sot." His shirt and pants were 
the fruit of the home loom ; his suspenders were 
knit of yarn ; bare-headed and bare-footed, with 
his shirt bosom spread wide open, he was a 
breathing, moving personification of don't-care 
frankness and honesty. After the greetings of 
the day, says he: ''Whose 'critter' company 
is this, and who commands it?" We told him 
that we were Texas cavalry, that we were in 
command and enjoyed the honor of being a 



36 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

Lieutenant in the army. ''Well," says he, 
"Leftenant, I am glad to see you. Say, old 
woman, and you gals, all of you come out here, 
these are Texicans." They all came, the old 
lady and five red-headed girls. "Well, 
Leftenant, is thar anything on this hill you 
want? If thar is name it," remarked the old 
man. We told him that we would like some 
good, cold buttermilk and cornbread. He 
turned to one of the girls and said, " Bring the 
Leftenant what he wants, and do it quick." 
The girl cleared the fence at one bound, and 
came back with a cedar " piggin " full of but- 
termilk and her apron full of corn dodgers. 
The white staves and red staves and long handle 
of the piggin looked nice and clean, but the 
half melted butter floating around on top of the 
milk, and the long-handled gourd we had to 
drink it out of made it pretty hard to eat so 
early in the war. We noticed a smile come 
over the face of our boys when we invited them 
to help themselves, and they refused, leaving 
the writer to get out of it the best way he could. 
AVe sailed into it, and did our level best to show 
the good people that we appreciated their hos- 
pitality. We soon got enough, and with the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 37 

excuse that our command was approaching, we 
took our leave. 

About twelve o'clock we arrived at a mill, on 
a bright, clear running creek near Batesville. 
Col. Sweet formed a part of his little command 
into a half-moon shape about the mill, placed 
the balance in ambush along the side of the 
road, and dispatched Capt. Tom Johnson with 
a squad of men to take in the Federal outpost, 
which was stationed about a quarter of a mile 
further on the road towards Batesville. This 
they were only partially successful in, killing 
two, the others making their escape into 
the city. The firing of the guns or the 
report made by those Federals who es- 
caped, created no little stir in the great Federal 
army. The blast of trumpets and the long roll 
of drums was simply terrific. This was the first 
demonstration we had struck that there were 
lots of people on the other side ready for fight, 
and we felt relieved when our Colonel gave the 
command to mount and vacate that region at 
once, and we lit out On what is called in military 
parlance double quick time, right up the road 
over which we had come in hot haste seeking 
whom w^e might devour. It was some time 



38 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

next day when some of ns landed back at 
Knight's Cove. 

About the first of July Gen. Curtis moved his 
army down White River to Jacksonport. As 
soon as he was safely out of the way our com- 
mand moved down and dashed into the city, 
with heads up and tails over the dash board, 
Col. Sweet at the head of our column, dressed 
in full uniform, with nice silk sash, and 
mounted on a fine charger. The citizens, as a 
rule, seemed glad to see us. 

We went into camp over south of the river, 
in a grand beach and maple grove near a big 
blue spring. After a few days our scouts came 
in and reported a train of eight suttler 
wagons, unguarded, traveling on the road to 
Curtis' army, at Jacksonport. A detachment 
was sent out and brought them in. It proved 
to be a rich capture, as they were all loaded to 
the guards with fancy bottled wet groceries, 
ginger cakes, sardines, oysters, calico, ladies' 
hoop skirts, spool thread, boots, shoes, tobacco, 
etc. We opened up the outfit at camp, each 
fellow appropriating what he wanted, and a 
great many things we did not need, for the 
writer owns up to drinking so many sardines 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 



39 



and eating so mnch Martel brandy, that we 
have had an abiding prejudice against both ever 
since. The overplns of dry goods, boots, shoes, 
hats, thread, etc., Col. Sweet ordered distrib- 
uted among the citizens, and you can bet we 
boys were the pie crust with those Arkansas 
girls as long as the hoop skirts, spool cotton 
and calico lasted. Pretty women just swarm- 
ed to our camp, nice balls and parties over in 
the city were all the go, and we just thought if 
this was all that war meant, by being a Confed- 
erate soldier we had struck rich paying dirt, and 
we didn't care if it lasted a couple of score of 
years ; but a few days after this quite a different 
taste was put in our mouths. 



40 UNWRITTEN HISTORY* OF THE 



CHAPTEE IV. 

COL. Clayton's 5th kansas give us our 

FIRST WHIFF OF GUNPOWDER — WE RUN 18 
MILES TO CATCH THEM, AND THEN RUN 18 
MILES TO LET THEM LOOSE. 

"While here five printers belonging to Com- 
pany ''A," from San Antonio, Taylor Thomp- 
son, his brother Henry C. Thompson, H. C. 
Logan, Billy Schott and Lieut. G. B. Hatha- 
way, took charge of the Batesville Eagle office, 
a Union newspaper that had been abandoned 
by the proprietor when Cm'tis' army left, and 
got out a scorching, red-hot secession paper 
and mailed it to the subscribers as their names 
appeared on the books. Those old Union fel- 
lows came biling m, paid off their subscriptions 
and ordered their paper stopped. The boys re- 
plenished their exchequer to the tune of about 
eighty dollars, pied the office, and left it alone 
in its glory. 

On Sunday morning, July 8th, while most our 



C2>«..>i.Jk.A-| 






'^ y OU^ ct>t ^ t /^ ^ 



C- J v/P^— 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 41 

command was performing the sad duty of put- 
ting Jack Spraddling in his grave, who had 
been accidentally shot the day before, our 
scouts came dashing into camp, covered with 
dust and their horses foaming with perspiration . 
We knew they had heard or seen something 
that they were just dying to tell, and sure 
enough they reported having discovered a big 
wagon train of supplies a few miles away, on 
the road to Curtis' army, and guarded by only 
200 of Col. Clayton's 5th Kansas cavalry. 
Col. Sw^eet decided at once that this was a 
spread just our size, and the capture of 200 
Yankees and a big train of wagons filled with 
good supplies, caused visions of glory, honor 
and a Brigadier- General's commission all to 
pass in rapid succession before his eyes, and be- 
fore the sound of his voice in giving the com- 
mand, " Attention, Battalion !" had been wafted 
away on the wind and whispered through the 
sugar tree and beach leaves on the great trees 
in the river bottom, the boys were getting into 
line. The writer was afoot, our horse having the 
foot evil, but we soon struck a dicker with James 
L*. Harding, of the Wise County Company, and 
secured his horse. By one o'clock we were off 



42 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

with the rifle company commanded by Capt. 
Faulkner, in the advance. As we passed up 
through the main street of the city, the ladies 
were all out in their Sunday-go-to-meeting 
goods, and were waving their handkerchiefs at 
us, and the way we did yell ! We were halted 
in front of a fine brick hotel where there was 
quite a crowd of citizens. Col. Sweet made one 
of his spread-eagle speeches, winding up with 
his favorite expression, " "We are going to 
punish the enemy." On we go, up hill, down 
dale, through valleys, lanes, woodland, and by 
fine old farms. When not in a lope our horses 
were on a dead run. The day was hot, the 
weather dry and the roads dusty, and while 
there were only about 100 in our command, we 
raised a terrible dust, which settled on our 
sweaty selves and horses, giving us the appear- 
ance of a hard, dirty set. 

About half a mile from Parikeet Bluff, on 
the classic banks of Black river, we struck the 
enemy's pickets and captured them, and while 
detailing a guard to hold them Captain Faulk- 
ner commanding the advance guard, took in the 
lay of the country and position of the enemy, 
and suggested to Col. Sweet, that the com- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 43 

maiid be dismounted and go into the fight as 
infantry, that the idea of men armed with 
squirrel rifles, shot-guns and muzzle-loading 
pistols, going into battle on horseback was pre- 
posterous in the extreme, but the Colonel refused 
to take the advice, and ordered the advance 
guard to charge, and at them we went in 
columns of four, or like a gentleman sheep 
goes to war — red hot from the heat on the 
outside, and red hot inside for a fight. At 
least two-thirds of the Federals had crossed the 
river. To the left of the road on which we 
went at them was a deep ravine, on the right a 
high fence ; just to the right of the road 
and near the river bank, was a blacksmith 
shop, and some seventy yards yet to our 
right stood an old-fashioned two-story frame 
dwelling, and in the rear of our right were some 
out-houses, stables, barns, etc. Captain Tom 
Johnson was killed at the first fire by a big', fat 
Dutchman. Tom Teague, a very close friend of 
Captain Johnson, shot the Dutchman dead, put- 
ting the muzzle of his gun so close to him that 
it set his clothing on fire. Captain Faulkner's 
fine horse was killed under him, but he supplied 



44 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

himself at once from Federal horses hitched 
about the blacksmith shop. 

We went at them with such a whirlygust and 
yell, that the Kansas fellows seemed kind 
o' appalled and hid out, and we had things our 
own way for a few minutes. But those fellows 
across the river were the first to recover and 
commenced pouring a deadly fire into us from 
their carbines and six-shooters. By this time 
the Federals in the houses, barns and stables, 
and about the blacksmith shop and in the ravine 
to our left, spit on their hands and came at us. 
Fact is, our outfit had less than a quarter of an 
acre of room to fight on, while the Federals were 
comfortably fixed as to room, protection and 
numbers, and they poured it into us from 
front, rear and both flanks. It was an exceed- 
ingly hot place for about ten minutes. Col. 
Sweet's horse was killed under him. 

The writer was on the extreme right of our 
line, about the blacksmith shop. Just east of 
the shop there stood a new striped Kansas 
wagon, with sheet on, and on the seat sat a very 
pretty young woman. She seemed to be spell- 
bound at what was going on about her. We 



WAR BET\YEEN THB STATES. 45 

discovered a man on the other side of the wagon, 
and about the same time he discovered us. He 
stepped out and we took a fair pop at each other 
and both missed. He stepped so as to put the 
wagon between us, and as the sheet lacked some 
inches of reaching the wagon bed, we saw him 
loading his carbine. We knew that the chances 
were at the next pop he would get us. We 
called to George W. Ross, of Faulkner's com- 
pany, who was getting in his work on some 
Federals down near the ferry, to help catch that 
fellow. George swung his long double-barreled 
shot-gun around to get it in range with the fellow, 
and as he did so the gun went off. This seemed 
to alarm him and he ran for a thicket of brush 
just to the right. We shot at him as he ran, 
but have no idea we hit him. He was a tall, 
handsome, dark-skinned young man, and the 
woman in the wagon may have been his wife ; 
anyway he made a brave fight for her. 

This was the last load we had in our pistol ; 
our caps, powder and balls were loose in our 
saddlebags, along with a deck of cards, hence 
we had nothing to do but to sit on our horse, 
look on and wait to be killed, or for the com- 
mand to run to be given. We rode up to 



46 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

where Lieut. W. O. Yantis, of Tarrant county, 
was sitting his horse, looking as solid and 
serious as a judge. We asked him what he 
thought of the outlook? He said he didn't 
hardly know. We told him we were whipped, 
and whipped badly at that. The words were 
hardly out of our mouth when all the 
boys seemed to reach the same conclusion 
at once, and turned to run, every fellow on 
his own hook. It was about 200 yards 
through the lane already referred to to 
the timber. The officers were all command- 
ing the men to halt, but as a rule, every time 
they would give the command halt, they Avould 
bury the rowels of their big spurs deep in their 
horses' sides. We all reached the end of the 
lane about the same time. The writer found 
one of his company, a long hungry fellow from 
Wise County, by the name of Pennington, 
here. He said: ''Hello, Bob, let's stop and 
fight them." Of course, being his company 
commander, we said: ''All right; fall in and 
form a line." We succeeded in getting about a 
dozen men in line parallel with the road, and 
when we came to examine we found that it was 
not Pennington's bravery or patriotism which 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 47 

had prompted him to make the stand, but that 
his horse had been killed, and he was riding a 
little black, thirteen-hands-high mule, without 
saddle or bridle. The remainder of our com- 
mand went by like a gust of wind. Pretty- 
soon our squad began leaving, one at a time. 
A young man by the name of Landrum was sit- 
ting his horse next to the writer, and as his 
flea-bitten gray mare lit into the road a bullet 
broke her neck. The writer's horse jumped 
clear over Landrum, and as we went over he 
called to us to let him ride behind us. 
We told him we could not spare the time. 
When our little squad dashed up behind the 
command they thought we were Federals. 
When the boys looked back at us their eyes, in 
contrast with their dirty faces, looked as white 
and snowy as dogwood blossoms in early 
spring. Some of them commenced crying, 
while others took to the woods. The writer 
saw at once that the wire edge was all knocked 
off them, and that our personal safety depended 
on a square run, so we quit the big road and took 
to the brush. The woods seemed to be full of 
^'us," and we were making the brush pop like 
a drove of longhorn Texas cattle on a stampede. 



48 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

After going about a mile we returned to the 
road and passed through a lane, and our com- 
mand halted. While sitting there on our 
horses we noticed some of the boys craning 
their necks and poking their eyes down the lane 
like they saw something. Some one said : 
'^ Look, yonder they come now." At this the 
boys who had dismounted climbed into their 
saddles, and all eyes were ''pinted" down the 
lane. We were just on the eve of breaking 
when Capt. Faulkner drew his pistol and 
threatened to shoot the first man that broke. 
He cursed like a Turk, and said if he had 
known that was the way Texan s conducted 
themselves in battle he never would have 
come all the way from the State of ^NTew 
York to help them. Capt. Faulkner was 
only about twenty years of age, a fine 
specimen of young manhood, smart as a 
whip and brave almost to rashness. 

He and one of his lieutenants, John Q. 
Daugherty, another brave and good man, with 
four privates remained in the neighborhood of 
the battle grounds over night and buried our 
dead the next morning, leaving a list of the 
names of the dead with a family near by, as well 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 45^ 

as placing marked headboards at their graves. 
Gov. Johnson removed the remains of his son 
and interred them in the family bmying grounds 
near Johnson Station, Texas. Some years after 
the war ended and in a spirit of common fair- 
ness, it is but left for us to say, that Capt. 
Faulkner did more hard fighting, put his life in 
peril more times than any Confederate soldier 
from Texas, in proportion to the interest he had 
in a Southern Confederacy, as he did not own a 
dollar's worth of property, and had no blood 
kin south of Mason and Dixon line. But he 
fought his way up from a private soldier to a 
major's commission, and was wearing a five 
point gold star on his collar when the war 
ended. 

His picture is at the beginning of this chap- 
ter, and many perhaps, who have not met the 
jolly captain will not recognize it, but all 
who have read their tickets while riding on 
the good Houston & Texas Central railroad 
in the last twenty years will recognize his 
peculiar sign-manual ; and had some day- 
dreamer said to the writer thirty years ago, 
when we were waltzing around in Arkansas 
doing service for the good of the Confederacy, 



50 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

under orders, made authority by this rare sig- 
nature, that in 1893 we would ride on a hand- 
somely equipped steel track railway from Den- 
ton, Texas, to the great city of St. Louis, on a 
complimentary pass from him, as the chief of its 
passenger department, we would have moved 
to have had him restrained as a dangerous luna- 
tic; but during all these years of phenomenal 
success, he never lost his balance, even if he 
did have an eye for a pretty woman and fine 
horses. We have devoted this much space to 
the friend of our young manhood and riper 
years as well, because he has a place in our heart 
of hearts, and that young men may learn from 
this object lesson that there is room at the top, 
on the roll of honor, and distinction in all 
legitimate undertakings, to be reached at the end 
of an honest, brave, persistent effort, under our 
free institutions. 

But to return to our story. On the enemy 
seemed to be coming, raising a cloud of dust. 
Some one said, " There don't seem to be but 
one of them, and he is afoot." Bob Floyd, of 
"Wise county, suggested that we fall back into 
the brush and "fire on him as he goes by," but it 
turned out to be our friend Landrum. He came 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 51 

lip puffing like a steam engine, and we felt 
right smartly relieved. 

As we rode along in the deep darkness that 
night, on our way back to Batesville, we had a 
line opportunity for reflection and rumination, 
and we went a good ways out on the line of 
reaching the conclusion that few things in real 
war come up to the colored pictures in the 
books. 

The following is the fall text of Col. Sweet's 
report of the battle, as appeared in the Little 
Rock, Ark., Gazette. 

Headquarters 15th Eeg't Texas Cavalry, 
Batesville, Ark., July 12, 1862. 

Capt. Hart^ AssH Adft-Gen'l Brig.-GenH 

Hust: 

Sir — I have the honor to report the result 
of a scout by a portion of my command, con- 
sisting of one hundred and fifty-one men, on 
the 8th inst. 

Learning about 10 o'clock, a. m., of that 
day, that a body of the enemy, said to be 258 
strong, were coming down from the direction 
of Salem, in Fulton county en route for Jack- 



52 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

sonport, via Sulphur Rock and Orient Ferry, on 
Black river, I immediately ordered a forward 
movement of a portion of my command, having 
it in view to take the lower road leading from 
Batesville to Jacksonport, and to intercept the 
enemy and cut him off from the ferry. 

The command was very soon put in motion, 
and proceeded as rapidly as the excessive heat 
of the weather and the jaded condition of our 
horses would permit; but notwithstanding all 
my precautions and vigilance, before I had 
reached the place I had hoped to intercept him, 
he had made good his retreat to the ferry. 
Determined not to be completely foiled, I con- 
cluded to follow him and give him battle, 
though I knew I should have to fight a largely 
superior force to my own, in point of numbers. 
I believed I could come upon him so suddenly 
as to completely surprise him, and perhaps to 
effect a complete victory before he could fairly 
recover from the shock. To effect this, I made 
the following disposition of my forces: Capt. 
Thos. J. Johnson, my quartermaster, was as- 
signed, at his own request, to the command of 
ten men, as an advance picket, to keep well in 
the advance until we should near the enemy, 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 53 

when all were to move nearly together. I^ext 
to Capt. Johnson, was placed Capt. A. 
Faulkner, of Troop Gr, m charge of the 
rifles and sharpshooters, and after these, the 
mam body, led by myself. 

Being anxious to make the fight before dark, 
we moved with all possible speed, and about 
half an hour before sunset, came upon what was 
supposed to be the enemy's pickets. Capt. 
Johnson captured one of them, the other es- 
caped. It turned out, however, that the enemy 
had no pickets out, and that we were right on 
the main body. A charge was immediately 
ordered by the advance, and executed with tell- 
ing effect. Capt. Faulkner followed with his 
command in a sweeping gallop, the main body 
moving close behind him. Unfortunately for 
us, we had to charge down a lane, and could 
only move four abreast; and before the main 
body could gain position, both our advance (in- 
cluding Capt. Faulkner's rifles) and the enemy 
became enveloped in such a cloud of dust and 
smoke from the fire of our guns, that for a few 
minutes, it was impossible to distinguish friend 
from foe. This was most fortunate for the 
enemy. He was thus given time to rally. I 



54 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

immediately galloped to the front to ascertain 
against what point to direct my column. I 
found that nearly all the enemy's force on the 
north side of the river (a considerable portion 
had previously crossed the river) was put to 
flight, except a few who had taken shelter be- 
hind some old buildings and trees, and some who 
had taken position under cover of a train of 
Avagons which almost completely blocked up the 
road near the ferry. I ordered a charge for the 
purpose of driving these squads from their 
hiding places, whence they were deliberately 
firing upon our advance. B}^ this time, that 
portion of the enemy on the opposite side of the 
river, having recovered from the panic, had 
formed in line of battle, and was pouring a gall- 
ing fire on our entire line ; a fire which was par- 
ticularly severe on the advance of the main body 
which, under command of Capt. Sanders, had 
already been ordered up to the support of the 
rifles. Notwithstanding this severe fire, the first 
squadron came into position in fine order, and 
commenced delivering its fire to the enemy on 
the opposite side of the river, 200 yards distant. 
I soon found that this was too long a range for 
our shot-guns, and ordered a charge over the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 55 

hill right down next to the river, where a large 
number of the enemy was secreted under a bluff 
close to the water's edge. This charge I at- 
tempted to lead in person ; but as my command 
moved to the front it was thrown into some 
disorder by the rifles, who had gotten into 
confusion, and completely blocked up the pass- 
age. At the same time my horse was killed 
under me, and before order could be restored, 
the entire command had fallen back about 
200 yards. I was still on foot, when Capt. 
Sherwood offered me a seat on his horse, be- 
hind him, which I accepted until we both came 
up with the command, where I obtained another 
horse, and endeavored to rally the men, but the 
enemy w^as now pouring a perfect shower of 
balls upon my broken and confused columns, 
and I soon found all attempts to reform under 
such a fire impracticable. I therefore ordered a 
retreat beyond the range of the enemy's guns, 
where, after some difficulty, I succeeded in 
restoring order and reforming. By this time I 
had learned from the prisoner captured that we 
had been fighting the whole, or nearly the 
whole, of the 5th Kansas regiment, and was 
satisfied also, from the reception we had met, 



56 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

that the odds of numbers against us was so 
great, and such the enemy's advantage of posi- 
tion, it would be imprudent to renew the attack, 
and hence continued the retreat. 

Our loss in the engagement was seven men 
killed and seven wounded, 18 horses killed and 
four wounded, besides some others so slightly 
as not to be reported. Two of the men are 
badly wounded, but I believe all will recover. 
We brought off all our wounded, except private 
Jones, who was accidentally shot as we went 
down, and left at a house half a mile north of 
the battle ground. 

It is impossible to obtain an accurate account 
of the enemy's loss, as he was left in possession 
of the field, and would not allow any citizen to 
visit the scene of the conflict until all his dead 
had been buried and his wounded carried off. 
Some of the men acknowledged to the citizens 
of Jacksonport a loss of twenty-flve killed and 
a like number wounded. There were above 
forty horses without riders when the enemy 
passed through Jacksonport on the follow- 
ing morning. Besides, the night after the en- 
gagement, the enemy destroyed nearly all his 
train and camp and garrison equipage, and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 57 

evidently left in haste. From these facts I am 
convinced that he considered himself roughly 
handled, and dreaded another attack. 

Early on the morning after the engagement, 
I dispatched Capt. James E. Moore, with a flag 
of , truce, to bury our dead ; but he met Capt. 
Faulkner and Lieut. Dougherty, who had been 
ordered to fall back, with a rear guard and 
watch the movements of the enemy, returning 
from the field where he had been to bury the 
dead, after he found the enemy had left. 

I mention with feelings of gratitude the gal- 
lant conduct of Capt. A. Faulkner, who had 
two horses shot under him, whilst rallying his 
men to the charge, Capt. V. P. Sanders and 
Capt. Thos. E. Sherwood also displayed signal 
coolness and bravery; as also did Lieuts. 
Dougherty and Banister, the last named being 
severely wounded in both arms — his right arm 
badly shattered by a minnie ball. Many of the 
privates exhibited great coolness and determin- 
ation in the fight, and are deserving of special 
mention ; but where all did so well, it would be 
invidious to distinguish. Let the gallant con- 
duct of the brave bring the blush of shame when 



58 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

they remember it, to the cheeks of those who 
sneaked away without firing a gnn. 

It is with a sad heart that I have to report 
the loss of Capt. Thos. J. Johnson of my staff. 
He fell, shot through the head, whilst gallantly 
leading his brave little band in a most desperate 
charge. He was brave almost to a fault. I 
trust his country will do honor to his memory. 

We captured two prisoners — one soldier and 
one teamster; also a blacksmith's forge with a 
complete set of tools, horse shoes, etc. 

I regret, for the sake of humanity, to be com- 
pelled to report the barbarous conduct of the 
enemy in killing Private Jones, the wounded 
man left at the house on the road, as before 
stated. After my command had retired from 
the field a small party of the enemy's calvary 
came out on the road in the direction we had 
taken, and finding Jones, deliberately shot him 
in the head, although he had not been in the 
fight, and was wholly unable to make any re- 
sistance. Can such an enemy prosper? God 
forbid it. Geo. H. Sweet, 

Colonel Com^dg, 

M. Shelby Kennard, Adjutant. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 



59 



Thirty years may be a long time, and a very 
great distance from the transaction, to set up a 
criticism, but the writer was a member of the 
Rifles, and hving witnesses will testify that the 
only confusion in, and the blocking of the way 
as referred to by Col. Sweet, was caused by 
wounded men and horses, and the small space 
of ground we had to fight on. 



• 
60 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTER V. 

ORDERED TO REPORT AT LITTLE ROCK — DIS- 
MOUNTED AND PUT INTO CAMP OF INSTRUC- 
TION IN THE INFANTRY DRILL — MUSIC IN THE 
AIR — MOVED TO ARKANSAS POST. 

The writer and little squad arrived at 
Batesville about daylight, all fully impressed 
with the idea that there was something to do 
beyond finding and catching up with the Yan- 
kee soldier. 

We crossed the river and went to our former 
camp, spread our pallet under a great sugar 
tree, and napped until about 12 o'clock. 
The boys were coming in, one, two, three in a 
''gang" all day, and as we had been blessed 
with the happy, sunshiny, God-given faculty of 
taking in all the ridiculous phases of the life of 
a soldier, we called all the boys around us and 
had them relate their impressions, experiences, 
and how they had seen the battle. We had fun 
enough that afternoon and laughed enough to 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 61 

satisfy the fun-loving side of any ordinary 
grown man a whole life time. Some of them 
said the Yankees had guns as long as fence 
rails ; some said the balls they shot at us were 
as long as yard sticks. 

After a few days we were ordered to report 
at Little Eock. Here the 14th, 15th, 16th, 
17th and 18th Texas cavalry were dismounted 
and made into infantry regiments, and put into 
a brigade with the 10th Texas infantry, com- 
manded by Col. Allison Nelson, of Waco, 
Texas. Col. Nelson was afterwards made a 
Brigadier-General C. S. A., and Lieutenant 
Colonel R. Q. Mills was elected Colonel of the 
regiment. "We were put into a caiap of in- 
struction near some fine springs, a few miles 
from a little city called Austin. Here we were 
first introduced to the real life of a soldier, and 
put through a routine of duty each day peculiar 
to a regular army. Brigadier-General Nelson 
was put in command of the Division, and the 
duty of disciplining the brigade devolved on 
Col. George H. Sweet. Col. Sweet was an 
Ulster county. New York, man, well educated, 
a fine specimen of American manhood, and had 
seen some service in the war between the United 



» 
62 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

States and Mexico, having marched with Scott 
to the City of Mexico, as well as having served 
through one campaign in Virginia, as a private 
in Capt. Ed Cunningham's company, in the 
early days of the war. He had a hard time 
breaking five thousand wild Texans into the in- 
fantry harness. Fact is, we were all mad be- 
cause we had been dismounted, having had our 
hearts set on doing our soldiering on horseback, 
and the boys very unjustly charged all this mis- 
fortune and hard camp duty, drilling, strict 
guard duty, etc., to Col. Sweet. Some of the 
men from the 18th regiment went to his head- 
quarters one night and shaved the mane and tail 
of his fine charger. Bay Bob, and after that 
whenever the Colonel would come in sight of 
the command the boys would commence halloo- 
ing " Whoa, Bob," at the top of their voices. 
This annoyed the Colonel very much, as he was 
a proud, vain and very sensitive man. 

Some time during the month of October our 
command was marched to Clarendon, on White 
river, some sixty miles from our camp. Just 
what this march was made for we did not know 
at the time and have not learned since, as we 
neither saw nor heard of any enemy in all those 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 63 

regions. It rained on us one whole day as we 
crossed the Grand Prairie. After a few days 
we returned to our old camp, where the same 
routine of drilling, guard mount, Sunday parade 
and inspection was gone through with. 

About this time Brig. -Gen. Nelson took sick 
and died. Brig. -Gen. A. Deshler was put over 
us. He had resigned a captain's commission in 
the United States army, was a graduate of West 
Point, a thorough gentleman and every inch a 
soldier. "We all fell right in with him, and 
the longer we were with him and under his com- 
mand the better we liked him. His soul quit 
this mortal coil in the great battle of Chicka- 
mauga. 

About the 15th of December our command 
was marched to Little Rock and there put on 
boats and shipped to Arkansas Post. The river 
was very low, and Ave were some four or five 
days making the trip. Most of the time we were 
out our boats were hung up on sand bars, and 
about half the boys would wade out and forage 
through the country. We spent Chrisknas at 
the Post. During Christmas week our old boss, 
Mr. Daniel Howell, the merchant for whom the 
writer was clerking when the war commenced, 



64 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

made us a visit, driving* all the way from De- 
catur, Texas, to Arkansas Post in a two-horse 
carry-all. His good wife had prepared us a lot 
of warm underclothing, overshirts, socks, etc., 
a trunk full, which he brought to us ; but we 
lost them all in the battle which occurred a few 
days later. While here Mr. Howell offered to 
buy the writer a sheep ranch or a drug store, or 
go in with him in running the blockade and get- 
ting up a trade with Mexico, if he would quit 
the army, but we could not " see it." We had 
not got glory enough yet, but we learned later 
on that we had acted the fool in not accepting 
one of his propositions. But you cannot put an 
old man's head on a young man's shoulders, and 
there is no use trying it. 

About January 8th, 1863, the writer was laid 
up with the flux and fever. Our quarters were 
only a few yards from the graveyard, we were 
very low, came very near handing in our checks, 
and the salutes they would fire over the graves 
of soldiers as they buried them each day was 
not calculated to brace one up much. 



§ss^#^ 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 65 



CHAPTER VI. 

BATTLE OF ARKANSAS POST, 

"No one knows as much about the great dif- 
ference between the written and unwritten 
history of the great war as does the soldier and 
the officers of the line, because of the hard ex- 
periences, the pathetic scenes, the never dying 
attachments formed under circumstances that 
tried men's weak points and developed all the 
good in human nature, to say nothing of the 
fun we had in taking in from day to day all 
the ridiculous phases in a great army of vol- 
unteers thrown together from all the States, of 
every grade of intelligence, from the cow boy 
on the frontier, the farmer boy from the rural 
districts, the clerk from the counter, the mer- 
chant from his ledger, the lawj^er from his 
books, the preacher from his pulpit, the mechanic 
from his jack plane, and all, all, from the civil 
walks of life and as full of fight as were the le- 
gions that followed Caesar and ISTapoleon. But 



G6 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



enough of this, we have akeady spread all over 
the country and haven't said a word about what 
we picked up our tablet and faber to write. So 
here is at it. 

In the early winter of 1862 there were three 
thousand of us rebels at a place on the Arkan- 
saw river, known as Arkansaw Post, and this 
little army was armed with shot-guns in the 
main, while a few regiments had the old buck 
and ball musket, and a few companies were 
armed with Enfield rifles. About the first of 
January, 1863, Gen. Sherman with an army of 
forty thousand men, equipped with all the con- 
veniences and death-dealing appliances of 
modern warfare, went down to and bucked up 
against Vicksburg and was repulsed with great 
loss. While he was yet mad, somebody told 
him that Tom Churchill, a little bit of a spike- 
tail, snaffle-bit dude of an Arkansaw Brigadier- 
General, was up there on the Arkansaw with a 
small outfit of rebels, and that he had better 
drive up that way and take them in. We were 
only about one hundred miles up the river, and 
there was hardly room for Sherman's fieet of 
transports and '^wash-pot throwing" gunboats : 
anyway he managed to get there, and after 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 87 

about two days maneuvering and feeling his 
way, he finally strung out his forty thousand 
around our three thousand, his lines extending 
from the river below to the river above, w^ith 
his gunboats in our rear. During the night of 
the 10th of January, 1863, his gunboats threw 
shells as big as wash-pots with tails of fire as 
long as a clothes line all over the river bottom 
and the explosions of them was so deafening 
and terrific that we would have gladly exchanged 
for keen claps of thunder. All this while we 
were not lying flat on the ground, but were as 
busy as busy could be in throwing up earth- 
works, each man working fully impressed with 
the opinion that every shovel of dirt he piled in 
his front might save his hide from being perfor- 
ated by a bullet on the morrow. The morning 
of the 11th came bright, cold, calm, crispy. In 
our front was a prairie and open woodland, as 
level as the plains of Texas, and it was covered 
as thick with blue coats as ever you saw black- 
birds on an oat stack in midwinter, getting 
things in shape to walk our logs. About eleven 
o'clock, here they came. Our line of rebels 
craned their necks over our line of earthworks, 
doubtless realizing the fact that we had found 



68 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

what we had been lookmg for — an opportunity 
to whip ten to one. On they came in mag- 
nificent style, as regular as one blue wave 
follows another on the bosom of old ocean's 
howling wastes. When the front line was with- 
in about eighty yards of our works, our boys 
raised up and gave Avhat was called a rebel 
yell, but it did not sound anything like such 
as we gave when we were on the march 
and some pretty Southern woman would 
shake a white rag at us, but it sounded weak 
and had a hollow, graveyard twang to it. Our 
shot-guns and buck got in their work and the 
enemy went down like grain before the mower, 
except those who had a good pair of legs and 
turned to account the good running grounds in 
their rear ; but they formed and reformed, and 
bucked at us ever so many times during the day 
with the same results. By 4 o'clock in the 
evening all our artillery horses had been killed, 
rendering our field pieces as voiceless as the 
tomb of Saul, our big gun in the fort, ''Lady 
Davis, " had been shot into just below her corset 
by one of the big gunboats and put the silence 
of death on that end of our line. The gunboats 
in our rear boomed up smoke in great dark 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 69 

thunder-heads of inky blackness, hiding the 
face of the sun, giving everything as ghastly 
and weird appearance as if the caps from an 
hundred purgatories had been lifted. To add 
to this heart-sinking situation not a gun was 
being fired by either side, the sun seemed to 
have run its golden chariot into the top of a big 
Cottonwood tree and we were ready to believe 
that the Yankees had a Joshua in their camps. 
This dreadful suspense was relieved when we 
looked to the right and saw a little white rag 
fixed in the end of a ramrod and fluttering in the 
breeze. They said it was raised through mis- 
take, but it is too late to discuss that matter now. 
The Yankees in front of us rose up as if by 
magic and Avere soon marched up to our lines. 
They seemed to be in excellent humor, while 
our boys, as a rule, looked pretty sullen when 
ordered to stack their arms. 

Oiu* earthworks lacked some two or three 
hundred yards of reaching the creek or bayou 
on our left. Lieut. Ira Long, commanding 
Company G, was ordered to take his company, 
and deploy it as skirmishers and guard the 
space in the timber between our left and the 
creek, hence theirs was an open field fight all day, 



70 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

and notwithstanding the Federal right pressed 
them, they held their ground, and when they 
discovered what was going on to the right — 
the white flag and other signs that the day 
was lost — Lieut. Long, Sgt. Dan McGary, 
and many others made good their escape by 
swimming the creek and a lake, and made their 
way back to Texas, and afterwards did good 
service under Kirby Smith, in the Trans-Mis- 
sissippi Department. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 71 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE FEDEEALS ISSUE LOTS OF RATIONS, PUT OUR 
OUTFIT ON^ BOATS AND LIGHT OUT FOR THE 
NORTH. 

After the surrender we were marched off 
down to the river. A strono- guard was sta- 
tioned around us and big rations of Lincohi cof- 
fee, hard tack and bacon was issued to us, and 
before dark came, several big Union Generals 
rode around outside the guard lines, looking 
through their spectacles, and over them too, in 
an effort to size up the build of such a small 
body of men who had held such a great army at 
bay so long. 

After stowing a big share of the rations away 
in a safe place, the Yankee boys bantered us for 
a singing match, Curg Smith, of Capt. Faulk- 
ner's Denton County company, accepted the 
challenge, and a goodly number of the Yankees 
formed a line on the outside and rendered the 
Star Spangled Banner with a hearty gusto, and 



72 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

by the time the last note had floated away on 
the cool evening wind, Curg and his crowd 
sailed into "The Girl I Left Behind Me," and 
for the time Federals and Confederates were all 
one, a general shout going up from everybody. 
jN^ext the Federals put up " Hail Columbia, 
Happy Land," and the thoughtful man discern- 
ed a seriousness in the rebels while this was be- 
ing rendered, that spoke more than is written 
in the book. But we were not knocked out by 
a large majority. We sailed into '' Happy Land 
of Canaan." This was new to the Federals and 
they seemed to enjoy it. "Dixie" and the 
" Bonnie Blue Flag " were sung, and the meed 
of victory was awarded the rebels, which of 
course was polite, we being their guests. 

On the morning we were marched aboard 
transports for a trip, and God only knewwhere, 
as far as we were concerned. The writer and 
about seventeen hundred others were put on a 
great big old wheezy, crazy boat called the Ne- 
braska. After on board, the captain arranged 
to have the field staff and officers of the line 
take their meals in the cabin and occupy state 
rooms like regular passengers, and the non- 
commissioned officers and privates to occupy 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 73 

the hold, boiler and hurricane decks. His in- 
tentions were doubtless good, but his judgment 
was grievously at fault. The first dinner he set 
knocked all his well laid plans awry. The 
men and officers as a rule were dressed alike, 
and before the meal was over he cursed like a 
good sailor, and said he didn't know that every 
man in the outlay was an officer, or he certainly 
would not have undertaken the job of feeding 
and bedding them in the cabin. We thought 
we had a dead sinch on him, but this was the 
first and only meal he set. We lay there all 
day and when old Sol had rode down the hill 
''away yonder" the other side of home and 
Texas, and thick darkness had quiet possession 
of the dark river bottoms, and the little stars 
above us looked like cat eyes up a dark alley, 
and no sound save the " gourd sawing " of the 
sound-sleeping rebel, the thorough bass of the 
bull-frog as he waded down right through the 
middle of the music of the spheres, and the senti- 
nel at his post as he cried the hour of the night 
and ''all is well!" — under these conditions 
several of the boys slid over the gunwales of the 
boat and made their escape. Joe Robinson from 
Denton County made the attempt and was either 



74 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

drowned or shot, as we found his hat the next 
morning. The hat was identified by having un- 
der its inside sweatband a note the writer had 
sent him some days before the battle. Early 
on the morning of the 13th everything was in 
ship-shape for the Sam Gaty, John J. Roe and 
Nebraska, the boats which we were on, to sail. 
When we awoke on the morning of the 14th we 
were floating on the bosom of the Father of 
Waters, and a blinding snow-storm was getting 
in its work. By this time the boys had 
pretty well all become located. Some were in 
the hold of the vessel ; and for darkness, damp- 
ness and grown folk rats, it won the cake. 
Messes were tucked away in every nook and cor- 
ner. Alec Williams, Hugh McKenzie, Lieut. 
Bill Brown and the others of their mess comprom- 
ised with the firemen and pitched their quarters 
in front of the fire-box, while some spread their 
bedding on the brick covering of the big boilers 
and some made their headquartei-s on the hurri- 
cane deck and managed to stand off the '^ shrewd 
and biting " north wind by taking it by turns in 
standing close to the great chimneys of the 
boat. 

The floor of the cabin was set aside as the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 75 

hospital. The whole outfit was thinly clad, all 
their clothing, except what they had on when 
captured, having been appropriated or destroyed 
by the enemy, and having just come out of 
warm, cosy, winter quarters and moving to the 
north, that dreadful disease, pneumonia, found a 
rich harvest, and in a very few days the cabin 
floor was lined from one end to the other with 
sick men, two rows of them with their heads 
toward the center and their feet toward the state 
room doors. The big stove in the ladies' cabin 
was kept full of coal and the hot, burning fever 
of the sick made the cabin too warm for a well 
man, and the sharp, biting wind on the outside 
was more than we could stand. We would go 
on the outside and slash around until the cold 
w^ould drive us in, and when we would open the 
door, a volume of hot air, laden with a stench, 
w^ould strike us in the face strong enough to 
hang your hat on. 

After awhile the spires, domes and minarets of 
Memphis, Tenn., hove in sight and the hearts 
of the boys bounded with hope and joy because 
the Yankees had told us we would be paroled 
there. Guess they told us this lie to keep us 
from getting away while on the Arkansas side. 



76 



UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



The boats rounded to and to our astonishment 
everythmg was moving along in Memphis as if 
there was no trouble going on down in Dixie. 
The stores so far as we could judge were full 
and people seemed as busy trading and trafficking 
as if nothing had happened. We looked, w^atched 
and waited for the man to come along with the 
paroles, but " nary" parole did we see. 

The boats took on a supply of coal, bacon, 
crackers, coffee and some more sugar, and 
pulled out up the river, and our hearts sank 
within us. 



?^^wi s 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 77 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

TRIP UP THE GEE AT RIVER TO ST. LOUIS — SICK 
MEN ON BOARD — STOPPING TO BURY THE 
DEAD — ONE OF OUR MEN SHOT TO DEATH BY 
THE GUARD AT BELMONT, MO. — ARRIVED AT 
COLUMBUS, OHIO. 

"We were several days out before reaching St. 
Louis, and while our surroundings were not at 
all inviting and all hands stood ready to make 
any sort of change that presented, yet there 
was something going on all the time, which had 
a decided tendency to relieve the dull monotony 
and turn on a whole lot of cheery sunshine. 
One bright crispy morning, while we were sail- 
ing somewhere above Columbus, Kentucky, our 
big boat took on some sort of a crazy fit. The 
pilot seemed to be working his wheel all right, 
and the captain was doing his best swearing, 
but it all did no good, the old boat flopped up 
against the bank of the river sidewise like a hog 
goes to war. The bank was quite perpen- 



78 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

diciilar with deep water right up to it and was 
just as high as the hurricane deck and as soon 
as the boat struck the bank the boys on the 
hurricane deck jumped off hke sheep out of a 
dry Jot over the bars into pastures green. The 
guard being stationed inside the railing around 
the cabin, they could not see what Avas going 
on. Several of the boys made their escape. 
The captain was a tall, handsome, blue-eyed 
man, and many Texans are to-day carrying 
around with them recollections of him in their 
heart of hearts. He was either a rebel at 
heart, or he had a heart full of sympathy for 
suffering humanity, anyway, he made it a point 
to throw all the good things he could in our 
way. The boat rounded to land every day or 
so to bury the dead. One instance, we clearly 
remember, there were two negro men on our 
boat. One was the body servant of Col. John 
T. Coit, of the 18th Texas regiment, and the 
other was the servant of some one else. Any- 
how, the Federals showed them some extra at- 
tention by spreading out some boards over 
the boilers for a sleeping-place for them. One 
good morning one of the bucks ^^ waked up 
dead," but seeing the dead and dying was no 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 79 

nnconimon thing and it did not attract much at- 
tention. Soldiers, as a rule, get to be hardshell 
Baptists or fatcilists and go into whatever falls 
to their lot, as being a part of that only which 
is to come to pass, according to the arrangements 
made by a higher power. 

At, or near, the battlefield of Belmont, Mo., 
our boat landed for fuel, and during the time 
the hands were getting it on board, some half- 
dozen very pretty young ladies came down to 
the shore and threw snow-balls to the boys. 
When the boat was just backing out, a very 
handsome man, a private in some one of the Texas 
regiments, remarked that he had rather die than 
remain a prisoner, and he leaped from the hur- 
ricane deck to the bank and fell, and by the 
time he arose to his feet six or eight of the 
guard fired on him. He sank down at once. 
The young ladies on the bank rushed to him and 
held him up, one being on each side. As the 
boat steamed off we could see him, his head fell 
forward, and they gently laid him down on the 
snow. His spirit had gone Avhere wars and 
rumors of wars never come. 

As we sailed by a town in Missouri, called 
Cape Girardeau, the boys enjoyed the didos 



80 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

cut by the negro population (in fact negroes 
seemed to be about the only population in the 
town). When they discovered we were rebel 
prisoners their joy seemed to know no bounds. 
A limber jack is a tame specimen of a gyrator 
as compared to the shines cut by bucks, boys 
and wenches on the shore. They would get 
down on their hands and knees and paw snow 
like the bulls of Bashan going to war. 

One instance of what cheek and nerve 
can do for a man, and we will pass along. 
Col. Majors, of Texas, was a tall, handsome 
fellow, and had by some means come hito 
possession of a Yankee hat, coat and pants. 
He had his boots blacked, and had a nice shirt 
and collar, and while our boat was tied up at 
Cairo, Col. Majors and a lot of other Confederate 
officers were standing on the hurricane deck. 
He said : " Right here is my time and place to 
getaway." We all laughed at the idea. The 
wharf was crowded with Yankee troops and the 
sidewalks with citizens. He walked right down 
to the gang plank, saluted the guard and the 
guard returned the salute and made room for 
him to pass out. We stood and watched him 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 81 

until he went out of sight up Main street. He 
made his escape and his way back to Texas. 

After about twelve days of the filthiest and 
most disagreeable living we ever struck in all 
our history, we came in sight of the city of 
Louis Xiy, St. Louis. While here Capt. Bill 
Shannon, of Parker County, Texas, played 
Col. Majors' trick on them, but after three 
or four days in the city the secret detectives 
shadowed him and took him in out of the wet. 
While here we were guarded by a regiment of 
home guard gray beards. They looked to be 
on an average about 75 years of age, and their 
long gray beards, as a rule, extended down to 
their belts. They were in full Federal uniform 
and were the most dignified body of men we 
have ever seen. Onr boys poked all sorts of 
good humor at them, but not a word would they 
say, and not a muscle on their face could we 
cause to move. Here the trading and trafficking 
proclivities of the Yankee showed up. The 
hucksters filled the boat, and as we rebels had 
nothing but old issue '' Confederic" money, the 
first thing to be done was to fix a fair discount 
on our kind of money. The writer swapped a 
twenty dollar bill for four one-dollar greenback 



bz UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

bills, and the first thing he invested in was a 
hunk of iimbnrger cheese about as big as a din- 
ner bucket, and of great vahie because of its 
age, and there ''were millions in it." (This 
chunk of cheese will come in later on.) 

After a day or so dickering as to what they 
would do with us, a conclusion was reached that 
the dividing line between the sheep and the 
goats be drawn, and the sheep be sent to Camp 
Douglas, Chicago, and the goats to Camp Chase, 
Columbus, Ohio, or in other words, the non- 
commissioned officers and privates be sent to 
the former place and the field staff and officers 
of the line to the latter. There were, somewhere 
in the neighborhood of three hundred commis- 
sioned officers in the layout. We were shipped 
to Cincinnati in common stock cars that had 
been used for shipping cattle, and the filth on 
the floors was shoe-mouth deep, and we had our 
choice of standing up and sleeping like horses, 
or of laying down and sleeping like hogs in this 
filth. I^ature gave away after awhile and we 
spread our blankets as best we could in the 
darkness and laid down. The first night was 
bitter cold. A Lieutenant Rodgers, from Texas, 
froze to death. At Cincinnati we changed cars, 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 83 

and the change was a welcome one, because 
they put us into nice passenger coaches, nicely 
heated. The most disagreeable thing we had to 
contend with on the way to Columbus, was the 
disposition of the guards in our coach to sing. 
The only song they seemed to know or care any- 
thing about was, '' We will hang Jeff Davis on 
a sour apple tree," etc. At Dayton, Ohio, the 
writer handed a Federal soldier 80 cents to buy 
mince pies. He returned in a short time with a 
stack of them as high as a cedar churn and about 
the size of a saucer. We felt rich beyond com- 
putation. And oh, how deliciously good they 
tasted. We sat there with them on our lap, one 
disappearing at a time, along with the cheese 
before referred to. After awhile we felt '' kind- 
er" full, our head began to swim, big drops of' 
sweat oozed out, our neck veins swelled and 
throbbed and our over-loaded stomach seemed 
to Want to turn over and rest on the other side. 
We raised the window for some fresh air and as 
the air came in, we stuck our head out, and with 
an ordinary bow of our back and swell in our 
Confederate neck, the tail end of the pies and 
cheese came forth, and as the train moved the 
cheese and pies came out of our mouth like a 



84 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

rope of dough and did not break until the first 
pie we ate was all gone. We washed out our 
mouth, wiped the tears from our eyes and 
cheeks, felt as cool as a cucumber and was as 
hungry as ever. At low twelve we arrived at 
Columbus. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 85 



CHAPTEE IX. 

LUNCHED BY MRS. A. G. THURMAN — MARCH TO 
CAMP CHASE — SEARCHED, REGISTERED AND 
TURNED INTO PRISON WITH AS MUCH BUSINESS 
COOLNESS AS A TEXAS COWMAN MARKS BRxlNDS 
AND TURNS A CALF LOOSE ON THE PRAIRIE. 

Getting us off the ears was the work of only 
a few minutes, and we were formed into two 
ranks on a broad street in front of a large 
hotel. The ground was frozen stiff and the 
north wind bit '^shrewdly," the skies were as 
clear as a bell, and the bright fires in the hotel, 
and well-dressed people moving around was 
quite in contrast with the condition of the 300 
rebel officers standing out and shivering in the 
cold. During the time that all the red tape fix- 
ing up peculiar to the military, several ladies 
came down our line with baskets filled with 
cakes, pies, fried chicken, roast beef, etc., — in 
fact it was as nicely fixed up as if it had been 
intended for a Sunday school picnic. They is- 



86 UNWRITTEN HISTORY *OF THE 

sued it out to us like sisters of charity with 
neither words of condemnation or approval. 
We surmised at the time that some great and 
good-hearted woman was the power back of all 
this, and it afterwards came to light that the 
wife of Allen G. Thurman did all this for us, 
and it was used against him when he ran for 
vice-president on the ticket with. Mr. Cleveland. 

About 1 o'clock a. m. we were ordered into 
line and moved out on the national pike. We 
reached Camp Chase, which was about 4 miles out 
from the city, about 3 :oO o'clock a. m., and in 
this short time the heavens became overcast with 
heavy, dark, threatening clouds, and by the 
time the head of the column reached the prison 
door a blinding snow storm set in. 

The work of relieving us of everything 
offensive and defensive before turning us 
loose on the inside w^as went at in a thor- 
ough, systematic manner. We were let into 
a kind of ante room, one at a time. After giv- 
ing oui* name, rank, regiment and State, a 
big burly Federal soldier went through our 
pockets like an expert. He would then overhaul 
us from the crown of our heads to the soles of 
our feet, in order to be sure that we had no 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 87 

gunboats, torpedoes, shot-guns, or mountain 
howitzers about our old clothes. After all this, 
which was gone through with so quick and with 
such familiar handling of one's person and ef- 
fects that we felt in a kind of dazed, wonder- 
what-comes-next condition, he would grab us 
by the point of our shoulder and shove us 
through another door where about the same 
proceedings were had. Through with this and 
we were shoved through the door inside of the 
great high walls of the prison, and we felt 
about as blank and as much dazed as a yearling 
looks to be after having been marked, branded, 
his tail cut off and then thrown over the fence 
to rustle for itself. 

By this time the snow was coming down in 
full-grown flakes. We looked up at the senti- 
nels on the walls as they paced their beat with 
their great coats and other warm clothing pro- 
tecting them from the cold. 

Down through the center of the inclosure 
were two rows of buildings, each about 300x15 
feet with street between them. These were cut 
up into rooms about 12x15, each being furnished 
with a small cooking stove, cooking utensils 
and plenty of blankets. The bunks were ar- 



88 UNWRITTEN IIISTOIfr OF THE 

ranged something like the shelving in a store 
with room for two. "We were not long in find- 
ing a vacant room, when we kindled a fire in 
the stove, toasted some of our cheese, fried 
some of onr mince pies and lunched before 
going to bed. After lunch we went about the 
matter of getting off to bed, and upon investi- 
gation we found that those who had been in 
there before us, had left a big lot of hungry 
''gray backs," who were holding under the 
ancient and strong law of peaceable possession. 
A compromise was made on the basis that we 
furnish board and the ' ' gi^ay backs ' ' the bed- 
ding. We were not long straightening out the 
big government blankets, and were very soon 
sleeping as sweetly and soundly in the arms of 
morpheas as if we had never made any trouble 
with the so-called '' best government the world 
ever saw." When we awoke the next morning 
the writer was sick all the way through, up and 
down ; the mixture of mince pies and cheese 
had again gone to war, and we turned them out 
where they could fight in an open field. We 
have never had anything like a ' ' honing ' ' for 
pies and cheese since. 

The day was bright and cold as it can be 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 89 

only in that hard, cold climate, and during the 
day the dickering was all done as to forming 
messes, and the regular issuing of rations be- 
gan, which as a I'ule consisted of cornmeal, 
baker's bread, beef, pickle pork, navy beans, 
cabbage, carrots, onions, sugar and coffee. Of 
course the items given above were not all is- 
sued at the same time, but we give the above 
as a sample of the way the rations run. While 
at Camp Chase we were well fed. The confine- 
ment and having to go to bed at 9 o'clock or 
sit up in the dark, and bounce out of bed at 
daylight and answer to roll-call were some of 
the disagreeable things we had to endure. The 
policy of the authorities was to put twenty in 
each mess. However, the messes ranged from 
13 to 20 and taking it for granted that the 
reader will accept a description of the daily 
walk and godly conversation of the writer's 
mess as a sample of the whole, we pass along. 
In three or four days we were moved from 
prison No. 1 into No. 2, and in our new quar- 
ters we got down to housekeeping. We divided 
out into reliefs of two to do the cooking. We 
remember the following of our messmates : Capt. 
F. J. Barrett; Lieut. W. C. Burris of Texas, 



90 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

Lieut. "Wm. Cook, Texas ; Capt. James Selkirk, 
Matagorda, Texas, — he was originally from 
Albany, New York; Maj. D. C. Douglas, 
14:tli Tennessee Cavalry ; Lieut. Furguson of 

Kentucky, Johnson, of Virginia. We 

have their names stowed away so far back in 
our memory now that w^e cannot call them all 
up, Capt. Selkirk's relatives living in York 
State, he V\^as supplied with plenty of money. 
He was very liberal with his means, a perfect 
gentleman and as brave a Gen. Forrest. Maj. 
Douglas was a prince of good fellows. He loved 
to play seven-up, tell good stories and read 
Shakespeare. Lieut, Ferguson's folks over in 
Kentucky sent him several boxes of nice pro- 
visions and he always made them the common 
stock of the mess. The following was each 
day's routine, as a rule : — 

Six o'clock a. m., roll call; next, breakfast; 
next, police quarters. By this time the morning 
papers were in. We were not permitted to read 
any but those that gave a favorable coloring to 
the Northern side of everything going on in 
Dixie. 

Each mess was a regular workshop, puttmg 
in all their time in making rings out of overcoat 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 91 

buttons. We had full sets of jewelers' tools. 
When the weather was not too mclement we put 
in lots of time playing ball and foot racing. 
Capt. Sut Harris, of Tennessee, was the fleet- 
est of all. At night we would sit around the 
stove in the dark and plot how to get out. We 
soon had prison 'No. 2 a net work of tunnels, 
but when some of our own folks did not sell us 
for their own personal freedom the authorities 
had spies in with us who would give us away 
before many could escape. All tools that we 
borrowed from the sutler during the day, such 
as hoes, shovels, hatchets, axes, etc., had 
to be returned the same day, and if any were 
held out, the rations of the mess holding them 
were cut off until the tools were returned. 

We had two Methodist preachers with us. Rev. 
Gillespie, Colonel of the 24th Texas, and Rev. 
Wilks, Colonel of the 25th Texas. They would 
preach for us on Sunday when not hushed up by 
the officer of the day. We remember one nice, 
bright Sunday morning we were all on the 
ground in rows like chickens on a bean pole, 
and the Rev. Gillespie was dishing us out some 
good gospel from a text, where some lecherous, 
broken down king was making war on some one 



92 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

who was leading a rebellion against him. Col. 
Gillespie was lifting the king's scalp in an ar- 
tistic manner, and the lines of comparison he 
was running seemed to point in the direction of 
Washington City. We were drinking it down 
like it was good medicine. The Federal officer 
soon got enough of it and ordered us to disband 
and go to our quarters. We did not question 
his authority but put on a waterbury movement 
at once. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 93 



CHAPTER X, 

ANDY JOHNSON, GOV. OF 

BKIGHT, OF INDIANA, AND GOV. TODD, OF OHIO, 
VISIT OUR PRISON — BIG CROWD OUT FROM 
COLUMBUS AND ENJOY SEEING US STRIPPED AS 
WE COME OUT OF PRISON — ELEVEN SHIRTS 
SKINNED OFF OF LIEUT. COOK BY SERG. EVANS. 

During the time that we were in prison 'So. 
2, Col. A. B. Norton, of Dallas, Texas, called 
to see us several times. Being an original Union 
man, he had gone north early in the war. He 
took with him his love for Texas and Texans, 
and the many little offices of kindness he did for 
us while in prison will never be forgotten until 
all the ex-Confederate prisoners who endured 
the hardships of prison life at Camp Chase shall 
have crossed over the river and " rest under the 
shade of the trees ' ' to answer to roll-call wdth 
Lee, Johnston, Bragg, Hood, Grant, Meade, 
Hancock, and the long unnumbered list of sol- 
diers brave, who quit this life in prison, hospital. 



94 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

or went up from amidst the smoke and din of 
the battle of Chickamaiiga, Corinth, Chatta- 
nooga, Atlanta, Ken saw Mountain, Murfrees- 
borongh, Franklin and Richmond. 

While we were yet in N^o. 2 Andrew John- 
son, military governor of Tennessee, Gov. 
Todd, of Ohio, and Bright, of Indiana, called 
on us. They were three fat, sleek, elegantly 
dressed governors, and had called ostensibly to 
see the boys, but really to see Gen. Churchhill, 
whose mess was just across the street from that 
of the writer's. They sounded the alarm at 
Gen. Churchhill' s door and sent in their cards 
by Capt. Webber, post commandant, and during 
the time the general was dickering over the 
matter of receiving the governors, quite a crowd 
of rebel lieutenants, captains and colonels col- 
lected around them, and when Capt. Webber 
reported that the rebel general refused to see 
them, we all cheered. Andy Johnson turned 
around and gave us a look of contempt and 
withering scorn that would have made ordinary 
mortals quake in their boots. With our mind's 
eye we can see him to-day. 

Every few days the monotony of our sur- 
roundings would be relieved by a new invoice of 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 95 

prisoners from the South, and then we would be 
able to get the truth as to how things were 
going on down in Dixie. We w^ould visit from 
mess to mess and fill up on grapevine telegrams. 
Some messes seemed to have gone into politics 
and the discussions were lively and rasping at 
times. Col. R. Q. Mills' mess was one of this 
kind. % 

Col. John T. Coit's mess was a regular den 
of theological gladiators, the Colonel was a 
strict Presbyterian, a finished scholar, and a 
perfect gentlemen. Capt. S. G. Snead of 
Austin, Texas, had been educated for a Catholic 
priest, and was a ready debater. Capt. M . D. 
Marion of Athens, Texas, was a Christian, " so- 
called Campbellite," and three men of more 
incongruous religious opinions could not have 
been thrown together. We have spent many 
pleasant hours listening to their discussions, and 
then pass on to the political mess of Col. Mills, 
and from there into the literary mess of Gen. 
Deshler. 

The officers of the 16th Texas, as a rule, 
messed together, and they would sing Meth- 
odist campmeeting songs, and especially when 
some of the officers of Col. Portwood's Arkan- 



96 UliWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

saw regiment would join in with them. Some 
messes were headquarters for chess, and others 
had checkers down to a science. 

About the first of April we were all moved in- 
to prison JSTo. 3, and by this time we had gotten 
everything in shape for housekeeping, and 
everything moving along as usual, when one 
day about high twelve the fog horn voice of 
Sergeant Evans called us all to fall in line with 
our traps packed ready for moving, and then 
commenced the rushing here and there, all 
hands packing up and putting together their ac- 
cumulation of shirts, blankets, tools for making 
rings, pipes, etc. In a word, everything we 
thought we could get away with that would be 
of service when we got home to Dixie. The 
writer had a whole outfit of jeweler's tools hid 
away in a loaf of bread. Friends in the north 
had sent us lots of nice clothing and some of 
the boys put on as many as thirteen shirts, 
while others of us had blankets enough, rolled 
and tied up, to supply a company of rebels, lit- 
tle thinking that '^the best laid plans of 
mice and men aft gang aglee." We were 
marched in column of two up to the big gate, 
through which we passed to the outside 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 97 

world. Commencing at the head of the 
list A, we were let out one at a time. 
This sort of proceedings caused us to suspicion 
that we were going to be put through some try- 
ing ordeal, and the whooping, yelling and im- 
moderate laughing of a great crowd on the out- 
side was conclusive proof that somebody was 
having great gobs of fun at somebody's ex- 
pense. The name of the writer came pretty 
early on the list, and he stole a peep through 
the crack in the gate to see what the cutting up 
on the outside was about. The city of Colum- 
bus seemed to have sent all of its fun-loving old 
men, young men, boys, pretty girls, old maids 
and fast married women out to have some fun 
at our expense. Of course the two generals, 
Churchhill and Deshler and their personal staffs 
were let out first. They robbed Gen. Deshler 
of an overcoat he had paid his own money for. 
He was very indignant. Lieut. Bill Brown, of 
Denton County, had on ten shirts. Lieut. Blair, 
of Belton, had a pistol. A spy by the name of 
Alder, a Hungarian, messed with him, gained 
his confidence and gave him away. Lieut. Chit- 
wood, of Johnson County, had on ten shirts. 
The first one of the C's was Lieut. Wm. Cook, 



98 



UNWRITTEN HISTORY 'OF THE 



of "Wise County. Cook was a sort of sad-eyed 
Confederate, and was a great lover of fine, 




all-wool, yard-wide shirts. The big sergeant 
grabbed him as he walked out and remarked, so 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 99 

that the great crowd could hear him: "Aren't 
you rather too broad across the shoulders, and 
too large across the corset for that pair of legs 
you are marchin' on?" Cook was like a lamb 
being lead to the slaughter, " he opened not his 
mouth." The sergeant was in his glory. He 
pulled open the bosom of Cook's shirts, and 
then commenced the work of taking them off. 
He would lift the shirt in front and bend him 
over like working a pump-handle and peel off 
a shirt over his head like an Indiana farmer 
skinning a rabbit. As he would skin them 
off the elegantly dressed crowd of females 
and 'Miemales " would laugh and yell 
with excruciating delight. The writer came 
next. His investment was in fine big U. S. 
blankets, he having weakened on the kit of 
tools before referred to, and left them on the 
inside, and when he put his hands on us to ex- 
amine for shirts and things, he found nothing. 
His keen eye, however, spied our roll of blan- 
kets and he cut the nice, new leather straps we 
had them bound with, tossed all we had into 
the pile except our own old home-made Confed- 
erate blanket, gave us a shove with the com- 
mand to ^'git," and the crowd yelled. Capt. 



100 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

Bob Hopkins, of Denton County, had enough 
blankets to supply his company with. By the 
time the last man was out the pile of shirts, 
blankets and things loomed up like a haystack 
in a fog. In saying good-by to Camp Chase, 
we will remark that we were guarded by home 
troops, and they watched us like we were cut- 
throats and robbers. 

On the way down to the city of Columbus, 
we saw Prentice, of the Louisville Courier 
Journal, standing by the way. He looked seri- 
ous and careworn. His son Clarence was with 
us — a handsome, dashing fellow. He was 
afterwards killed in battle. 

At Columbus we were put on board very nice 
passenger coaches and pulled out, may be so 
for Dixie and may be so for somewhere else, 
and it was for somewhere else. 

Late Saturday evening we passed through 
Pittsburg, Pa., and from the smoke and great 
seething hot furnaces, and hard, dirty looking 
people, we were inclined to the opinion that his 
Satanic majesty had leased one corner of the 
earth and was doing a land office business. 
This opinion was not entirely removed when we 
came in contact with the people. We changed 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 101 

cars here and during the time we were making 
the change the Pennsylvania-stay-at-home re- 
helhon crushers sailed into us pretty rough with 
their fiery tongues, having a great deal to say 
ahout our being rebels and threatening Lee 
with fighting Joe Hooker. 

From here we went in the direction of Phila- 
delphia instead of towards Dixie, and our hearts 
sank within us. We knew as little about where 
v>^e were going as if we had been the same num- 
ber of cattle ; but such is the life of a soldier. 




102 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTEE XI. 

PROM PITTSBURG TO FORT DELAWARE — PASS 
THROUGH PHILADELPHIA OX SUNDAY EVEN- 
ING THE PRESENCE OP THREE HL^NDRED 

REBEL OFFICIALS PUT SOME OF THE QUAKERS 
IN BAD HUMOR — A NARROW ESCAPE FROM 
BEING MOBBED. 

As our train had no right of way and run on 
such time as no other train on the great road 
needed, we were smartly delayed. Anyway 
Sunday morning found us somewhere in the 
Alleghanies between Pittsburg and Harrisburg, 
climbing around the mountains, crossing rivers 
and heading deep canyons. The road made such 
sharp curves it seemed at times that the engineer 
and the conductor m the caboose could exchange 
" chaws " of tobacco. Of course the people all 
along the line knew that we were coming, and 
all hands turned out to see what sort of looking 
specimen of the ''genus homo" a rebel was, 
and the comments after sizing us up was some- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 103 

times complimentary and sometimes pretty hard 
to endure. We had some friends even in Penn- 
sylvania, for at Harrisburg some good soul 
dumped a bushel of oyster crackers on the floor 
of our car. About four o'clock in the afternoon 
we entered the historic and classic precincts 
of the Schuylkill river and as it was Sunday 
the whole of the population of the great city 
of Philadelphia seemed to have on their best 
"toggery" and turned out to see us, big, 
little, old and young, elegant gentlemen, 
thugs, thieves and roughs, ladies and wenches, 
fools, fops, dudes and dudines. The train 
moved just fast enough for the seething mass 
of gathering humanity to keep up with it in a 
clever walk, and it was all the guard could do 
to keep them from boarding the train and at- 
tacking us. We thought then and have not 
changed our opinion since, that the authorities 
had planned to have us mobbed. If not why 
were we put at the mercy of so many drunk 
and excited people. Many of them seemed to 
be wild and livid with rage. They would whip 
us in the face with miniature flags and men and 
women would scream like wild cats : " Hurrah 
for the union!" An Irishwoman picked out 



104 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

^ick Darnell of Dallas as the man who had 
killed her son, and it required an effort to keep 
her from getting on board the train and crawl- 
ing K'ick's hump. Our train, as well as we 
could tell, passed through the north or bay end 
of the city, and just as far as we could see up 
the broad, straight streets of the great old city, 
we could see people coming in a long run. 
Fact is, there seemed to be more able-bodied 
men in the city of Philadelphia than Ave had in 
all the armies of the Confederate States. As 
the train glided into a big depot, an iron gate 
was shut and the excited crowd surged against 
it like so many cattle. This was the first sure 
indication that our guards were alarmed as to 
their own as well as our safety. We were hur- 
ried out the other end of the depot and on board 
a steamer, where we felt pretty safe and could 
draw a long breath. The writer, along with 
some others, went on the hurricane deck, and 
after looking at the shipping in the bay turned 
to get a good view of the city. Here was a 
sight that baffles description. We never before 
nor since have seen such a mass of human 
beings. We felt well out of danger and 
full of fun, and yelled at the top of our 



WAR Bl-yrWEEN THE STATES. 105 

voice : '' Hurrah for Jeff Davis and the South- 
ern Confederacy!" In an instant we were 
sorry we had done it, for it brought forth a 
groan mingled with hisses from that seething 
mass of infuriated Yankees that made each 
particular hair on our head stand up like the 
quills on the back of the fretted porcupine. 
Fact is, Dante's Inferno describes nothing so 
terrific. By this time it was raining but the 
great crowd stuck to the positions as if intent 
upon devouring us with their eyes. Pretty 
soon the coaster pulled out down the Dele- 
ware river. The April air was chill and 
damp and having had no sleep for the past 
two or three days and nights, except such as we 
could get standing up like a horse, the boys were 
all soon tucked away in some nice corner and 
" nature's sweet restorer " in command. After 
prowling around for some time, we found 
our way into an elegantly furnished cabin down 
in the hull of the vessel. It was nicely lighted, 
with no one in it except Gen. Churchhill and 
his staff. We selected a kind of out of the way 
corner, piled some chairs aroimd and spread our- 
self on the soft carpet to take a nap. We were 
not long into getting off into dreams of our 



106 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

" home and fair native bowers and pleasures that 
waited on hfe's early morn, while memory each 
scene gaily covered Avith flowers, revealed every 
rose but secreted the thorns." Some time after 
nightfall our boat landed at Ft. Delaware on a 
little island near the outlet of Delaware bay, 
some fifty miles from Philadelphia and six or 
eight miles from the main land. The outfit was 
marched off the boat without much ceremony. 
The writer knew nothing of what was going on 
because of his going ahead with his dreaming. 
About the time they were all off, two big, burly 
Yankee home guards found the writer and in- 
stead of waking him up like he was a human be- 
ing, one of them applied his foot, which had on 
a No. 13 government shoe, to that part of his 
anatomy where the bosom of his pants wear out 
first, lifting him up to a standing position, while 
the other used his bayonet in a very familiar and 
unlady like manner. We were rattled — they kick- 
ed us all the way up the stairway and out to the 
end of the gang plank. In the confusion inci- 
dent to such rough handling, we lost our hat, 
kept our temper and struck the shore with a full 
head of those feelings peculiar to one loaded 
down to the guards with equal portions of shy and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 107 

wild. After all answering to their names we 
were marched inside the walls. In the absence 
of better information, we estimate the island 
on which the fort and barracks were erected, 
at abont fifty acres. The grade was about six 
feet below high tide and was protected by a 
levee. The buildings were common board houses, 
constructed in a square, making a very pretty 
plaza in the center. Here we were in the hands 
of officers and men of the regular army, and 
they treated us with the politeness common be- 
tween the army officers of nations. At first we 
were allowed the liberties of the island during 
the day, that is, the privilege of promenading 
on the levee. This was not only very clever and 
refreshing but it afforded us an opportunity to 
gather shells with which to put sets in rings, 
breastpins, etc., that we made of gutta percha; 
but this liberty was soon cut off, because some 
of the boys buoyed themselves up with canteens, 
and swam out to the main land and made good 
their escape back to Dixie, while others would 
play on the money-loving side of the Yankee 
and would buy or hire yawls and get away, while 
some of the Federals would contract to deliver 
so many safe and sound over on the Delaware 



108 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

side, for so much per head. This, as before 
hinted, didn't last long and we were confined 
inside of high walls. The port was commanded 
by a general by the name of Scheoff . He was 
a cruel old cuss. Whenever a Confederate made 
an effort to escajDe and failed he was then put 
into a dungeon. The fare at Ft. Delaware was 
a wretched failure. It consisted of bread, bacon 
and coffee for breakfast ; bacon and bread for 
dinner and pick-your-teeth for supper. The 
bread was regular gun-wadding, the coffee Avas 
about one grain to every forty gallons of water, 
and, as to the bacon, it is safe to say it was a lot 
of 80w-belly General Jackson left over after the 
war of 1812. It was green all the way through 
and was rank, ranky, rankishly rancid. Our 
cook was a Confederate who had fallen from 
grace and had taken up with bad company. 
We called him Stonewall Jackson and in our 
mind's eye we can see him now as he tosses in 
the great big, dirty middlings of bacon into the 
boiling pot. The meat was then cut into slices 
about the size of your index finger, laid on a 
slice of bread the same size and then another 
was laid on top. These rations were then 
strung out on a long pine board table, and the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 109 

door of the dining room was thrown open and 
we sailed in. Such a thing as beef or any kind 
of vegetables were not in it. This was the 
hardest thing we had struck, and that, too, in a 
country where there was plenty, and the only 
excuse the United States government can give 
for thus systematically starving us to death, is 
that of pure unadulterated cussedness. But for 
the kindness of Mrs. Cheesborough and other 
good w^omen of Philadelphia, God only knows 
how much w^e would have suffered. As it was, 
our powers of endurance seemed taxed to their 
utmost limits ; but such is cruel war. During 
the time we were thus straitened for some- 
thing to eat, the writer dickered with a Federal 
soldier for a dozen fresh eggs, and to make 
sure of getting all the good there was in them, 
tied a string around the end of one leg of a 
pair of old pantaloons and held on to the other 
end while the eggs boiled very hard in the kit- 
tle of bacon. We took them out and ate them 
at one sitting, and the only inconvenience 
felt was a sort of don't care, dull sort of head- 
ache for an hour or tw^o afterwards. There was 
no ball playing, and very little singing while 
here. Somehow two or three violins found 



110 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

their way inside the prison ; several of the boys 
could play, and we tripped the light fantastic 
toe some, but it was stale compared to what it 
would have been had we had a rebel dressed m 
calico by our side. We don't remember seeing 
a woman while on the island. One instance of 
lack of nerve at the right time, and we are 

through for this sitting : Lieut. made a 

dicker with a Federal soldier for a yawl to be 
delivered at a certain point on the island, 
paying so much down. The Federal took 
his money and then went and reported to 
Gen. Scheoff. About 10 o'clock at night we 
were all put into line and an officer and the 
betrayer came down the line looking for the 
lieutenant. The officer would hold the lantern to 
each rebel's face as he passed down the line, so 
that the soldier could identify his man. Just 

before they got to Lieut. , he thought to 

escape by dropping out and passing in the rear 
down to that part of the line already inspected. 
They caught him in the move and he weakened 
and was sent to the dungeon. His having shaved 
and changed clothing would have saved him, if 
he had only had the nerve to have stood shoulder 



WAK BETWEEN THE STATES. 



Ill 



to shoulder with us in Hue. Fi-om this we learn 
the lesson, that during our natural lives, we lose 
quite as much by being too smart as we do in 
not being smart enough, sometimes. 




112 unwrittp:n history of the 



CHAPTEE XII. 

ON OUR WAY TO DIXIE — TRIP ON OLD OCEAN' S 
HOWLING WASTE — FROM FORT DELAAVARE TO 
FORTRESS MONROE — SEA SICKNESS — EX- 
CHANGED AT CITY POINT, VIRGINIA. 

On the 29th of April, 18G3, we were ordered 
to get our bag and baggage ready for a trip to 
Dixie, and never did a piece of good news put 
more elasticity into the '' souls of the sons of 
men" and more sunshine in their hearts. 

By noon we were all in line and marched on 
board an old coaster, called " The State of 
Maine." It was not crazy, but from the wear 
and tear it appeared to have been subject to and 
the pattern of its build ; a guess that it was one 
of the vessels that escaped the cyclone that 
cleaned up the Spanish Armada in the year 
1521, would not have been extravagant. When 
time was called for dinner, the plan adopted to 
feed us was convenient and successful, but the 
menu was not at all inviting. Our cook, 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 113 

Stonewall Jackson, had boiled lots of old bacon 
and cut it up into chunks of about the size of a 
five cent bar of soap, and shoveled into a hogs- 
head that set on the deck. A hogshead of 
crackers stood to the left of it, leaving room for 
us to pass between one at a time. We were 
formed in line single file, like Indians on the 
war path, and as we i3assed between the two, 
with our right hand we were to grab a chunk of 
the bacon and with our left all the crackers we 
could get away with. As a rule, crackers and 
bacon is good fare for a soldier, and true 
enough if the quality is all right, but in this in- 
stance the crackers were old and chaffy and the 
bacon rancid all the way through. Some of the 
boys would run their arms down into it up to 
their arm-pits in search of a piece that they 
could eat. 

Some time after dinner great volumes of 
smoke began to boom out from the great chim- 
neys of the vessel, and the steam commenced 
snapping and hissing, the sailors pulled in the 
gang plank, the captain tapped the bell and the 
old steamer pulled out down the bay towards 
Dixie land, and in bidding good-bye to old Ft. 
Delaware we wished for one thing only, and 



114 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

that was for about one hundred tons of powder 
placed about forty feet under the ground near 
the center of the island, and that we at a safe 
distance could ignite it and blow the whole out- 
fit into the Atlantic ocean. Nearly a third of a 
century, however, having swept by since that 
time, our feelings have gone through quite a 
mellowing process, and we turn those who so 
cruelly mistreated us over to the tender mercies 
of the God of Battles. 

About sundown our boat cast anchor at the 
mouth of the Delaware bay and pretty soon we 
had all turned in to sleep and dream of table 
after table loaded with every thing nice to eat 
and drink we had ever seen or heard of. The 
reader may think it strange that we write so 
much of eating and drinking. The logic of this 
is accounted for in this proposition : Give a 
soldier plenty to eat, plenty to drink and lots of 
fighting and " fun" and he is happy. A sol- 
dier is a machine ; he expects his government to 
take care of his person, commits his soul to the 
care of the Great I Am that I Am, and don't 
worry about that side of his destiny any more. 

Early on the morning of the 28th we pulled 
out on to the booming bosom of the Atlantic. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. H5 

A description of how sick it made the boys to 
ride the mad winds and wild waves of old Nep- 
tune's duck pond would be a work of superero- 
gation, because the subject was all used up as 
far back in the dim history of the past as when 
it made Jonah, the Jew, so sick that he threw 
up a whale. We stood around on deck in 
groups learnedly discussing the difference in 
the shines the boat was cutting and those 
of a mustang pony when it goes up in the air 
and returns to earth with its head between its 
forelegs. We all agreed that the light, gauzy 
feeling produced in the neighborhood of one's 
craw were about the same in kind, and the vote 
was unanimous that we could ride her as long 
as she kept on her main and tail. We had not 
gone many knots out of sight of terra firma 
until the man with his eye on the capers liable 
to be cut by cause and effect, could very plainly 
see that old Nep was getting in his work under 
the lining of lots of the boys' Confederate jack- 
ets, and pretty soon you could see them pulling 
out by ones, twos and threes for their quarters. 
They were not in the captain's way any more, 
but lay around loose down in the hold throwing 
up bacon and crackers and wallowing in it, too 



116 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

sick to live and too much in debt to their stom- 
achs to die. The writer perambulated back 
toward the stern, lapped his left ai*m around a 
post and with his right tossed bits of crackers to 
big white pigeon-looking birds following the 
vessel, thinking that this amusement and the 
cool wind might turn his attention from the sea 
sickness epidemic that was raging from stem to 
stern, and from larboard to starboard. While 
here a long, Florida looking fellow hung the 
front door of his Confederate commissary store 
over the banisters just to the right and above us, 
and the ''yaller" bacon greese, lumps of 
crackers and rebellious bile run out, just as 
easy. This was just a little too much. Our 
stomach turned over and tossed up a lot of 
bacon that burned our throat like straight 
Georgia whisky going down. We held court 
right then and there, and discussed the matter 
of jumping overboard and putting an end to the 
many ills incident to this sneering, jeering and 
unfriendly world, but reason or caution suggested 
that we had better put up with these ills, rather 
than rush to those in a country we know not of. 
As soon as hostilities let up a little, we turned 
loose the post and ' ' lit out ' ' for our bunk way 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 117 

down in the hull of the vessel. We made the land- 
ing some time during the evening, a perfect wreck 
of our former self. From this time on we all 
done our sitting up laying down. We were too 
sick to make any note of time, anyway our rec- 
ollections are that we run in under the big guns 
at Fortress Monroe late in the evening of April 
30, anchored and several Federal officers went 
on shore. When they returned we asked the 
news. They had nothing to tell. From their 
caucussing around in groups and serious talk, 
we surmised that Lee was giving " fighting Joe 
Hooker" some trouble. And sure enough he 
was making " fighting Joe " hunt for the thick 
brush in the wilderness. This and some other 
hitch in the cartel for the exchange of prisoners 
caused us to be held at Fortress Monroe several 
hours. After much dickering our steamer 
pulled out into Hampton roads, the battle 
grounds made historic by the terrific naval en- 
gagement between the Merrimac and Monitor. 
We were soon in the waters of the James river 
and could see the vine-clad hills of old Virginia. 
Some time in the afternoon we sighted City 
Point, and a sure enough Confederate flag as it 
fluttered in the free, Confederate air fi^om the 



118 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OP THE 

cedar-clad bluff on the river cind all faces were 
turned towards it. It was the " observed of all 
observers" and a yell went up from rebel 
throats such as the impetuous Southei-ner only 
can give. For the time our cup of joy was full 
and the prospects of soon being free again 
caused strong, brave men to shed tears of glad- 
ness. We were, however, let down again, for 
the big boat cast anchor out in the middle of 
the river. Then all kinds of rumors commenced 
to float as to the cause of our being held. Some 
seemed to take a sort of fiendish delight in get- 
ting up big lies and circulating them, and it 
finally reached the point that we were to be re- 
turned to prison because of a faihu'e of tlie com- 
missioners of exchange to agree on some point. 
We called a council of war at once and all hands 
agreed that should the boat head down stream 
with steam up we would overpower and hog-tie 
the guards, put them in the hold, run the boat 
to land and get off, and should the guards re- 
sist, we were to fight them to the knife and the 
knife to the hilt, in a word, we were not going 
back to prison. Some time during the next day 
our commissioner. Col. Ould, came down from 
Richmond in his little boat, and whispered to 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 119 

Capt. Bob Hopkins and some of the other boys 
that Lee had cleaned up Hooker. He did this, 
however, under the pledge that we would make 
no demonstrations, which pledge we religiously 
kept. But the yell that was in our throat was 
so big that it nearly choked us to hold it down. 
About sundown all the military red tape having 
been gone through with, we were landed on 
Dixie soil, boarded a train and ifl a few hours 
were turned loose in Petersburg, Virginia. 




120 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTEE XITI. 

A FEW DAYS IN RICHMOND — NEW ISSUE OF 
CONFEDERATE MONEY — OUR NEW SUIT OF 
MILITARY CLOTHING — WE ARE SHIPPED OUT 
TOWARD THE SETTING SUN. 

We are now out of prison and we had cal- 
culated to dismiss our unwritten history of the 
great war right here, and would have done so, 
but for the many expressions of appreciation 
of it, making us bold enough to let our faber 
have more play. We desire it distinctly under- 
stood, that in giving a pen picture of the ex- 
periences of the men and officers of the line in 
the great Army of Tennessee, we do not propose 
to enter into the discussion of the movements 
of armies, corps, divisions, brigades, etc., except 
as they come in incidentally, because an under- 
taking of this kind would be cutting off larger 
slices than we have time, ability and disposition 
to undertake to chew, and, besides, this field has 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 121 

been thoroughly cultivated by President Davis, 
Gen. J. E. Johnston and other great writers. 

In the last chapter we bid our readers good-by 
at Petersburg, Va., and here the exception to 
the rule, was to find any of the outfit who had 
any money, therefore, being turned loose to shift 
for ourselves in a big city was very little better 
than being in prison so far as solid comfort was 
concerned. Some of the boys put on a bold 
front and put up at the big Bowlingbrook 
Hotel, while others hung out on the sidewalks 
and at the city market place. Next morning 
the outlook improved. We met with no diffi- 
culty in the matter of borrowing new issue Con- 
federate money, and the streets being full of 
old aunty negro hucksters, for one Confederate 
dollar we could buy a corn dodger and a broiled 
fish as big and as long as a Chicago girl's 
foot and two hard-boiled eggs thrown in for 
good count. After one day we were shipped up 
to Richmond, and when we arrived we went 
around to the treasury department and drew 
twelve months' pay. The writer received $1,080 
in new, crisp ten dollar Confederate bills. He 
felt richer than ever before or since. It was an 
enormous pile of money — more indeed than we 



122 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

had pocket room for. Hichmond at that time, 
May 2d, 1863, was pretty lively, good hotels, 
fine restaurants, full stores and jim dandy 
saloons. The first thing the writer did was to 
put himself inside of a nice uniform, and after 
getting it on and standing before a large mir- 
ror, admiring the gold bar on our collar, the big 
brass buttons set in pairs, the curleymacew gold 
lace on our sleeves, the hat on our head with 
waving plume, our fine Wellington boots, the 
new sword that dangled at our side, we had no 
idea of being able to go two blocks up Main 
street before we would be offered a position on 
Gen. Lee's staff or called in as military adviser 
to President Davis. The reader will have to 
imagine our utter astonishment at the people in 
the capitol grounds on Main street, and at the 
Spotswood paying no more attention to us than 
to other common mortals. It let us down right 
smartly, but did not by a large majority se- 
riously impair our opinion of our good looks in 
our three hundred dollar new suit. "While here 
our headquarters were at Camp Lee, about a 
mile out from the city. It was here we met our 
commands, they having been exchanged several 
days before, and the meeting of officers and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 123 

men, a recital of experiences since we were sep- 
arated at St. Louis was touching indeed. As 
already hinted, our headquarters were at Camp 
Lee, but having the liberty of the city, and the 
many good things laying around loose in the 
great city, out of which a soldier could get lots 
of solid comfort, kept all the boys on the pad, 
hardly enough remaining to keep camps. To 
our minds, all that the women of Richmond 
lacked of being angels of the first water were the 
wings, and some of the boys insisted that they had 
found some whose wings were sprouting. But 
speaking seriously, the ladies of Richmond 
treated us with every kindness and marked at- 
tention possible. They all wanted a keepsake 
and we were not long in giving away all the 
rings we had made while in prison. We were 
well fixed in Richmond, going at night to see 
Ogden and the Misses Partington in Macbeth, 
or to a nice hop at some private residence, hence 
we were knocked out when the secretary of war 
ordered our command to report for duty to the 
commander of the Trans-Mississippi depart- 
ment. 

On about May 10, we marched across the 
high bridge on the James and boarded the cars 



124 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

for a trip towards the setting sun. At Bristol, 
Tenn., our command was stopped and put into 
camps. Camp rumor had it that because of 
some difficulty between Col. Wilks, of the 24th 
Texas, and Col. Gillespie, of the 25th, con- 
cerning" which was the ranking officer in the 
regular line, that the first had reported us in a 
state of mutiny or insubordination, and that we 
were to be sent to Gen. Bragg' s army to be 
disciplined. Anyway, we remained here several 
days. The writer secured a kind of under- 
ground leave of absence for the purpose of a 
few days visit to his old home near Cleveland, 
Tennessee. We had left there when only 
twelve years old, and it seemed hard for kinfolks 
and acquaintances to realize on return a great 
big young man in a Confederate uniform. A 
very handsome majoi-ity of the people of East 
Tennessee were what they called "Union Dem- 
ocrats," and while those with whom we were 
immediately associated, treated us very consid- 
erately, we could see that our uniform was dis- 
tasteful to them. We visited many places 
where we use to ramble when a little boy ; the 
place where we learned to swim in the little 
creek. We spent some five or six days in this 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 



125 



manner very pleasantly, only one thing hap- 
pening that caused any bitterness of feeling, 
and doubtless a lack of proper appreciation of 
the surroundings by the writer was the cause 
of that. 



-^ 



^ 






126 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTEK XIV. 

AT THE HOME OF OUR BOYHOOD IN EAST TEN- 
NESSEE — SOlVrE UNION YOUNG LADIES KNOCK 
A COUPLE OF TONS OF CONCEIT OUT OF US 
WITH A BOUQUET. 

The little mite of bitterness injected into our 
sojourn at the old home in East Tennessee, 
as referred to in the close of the last chap- 
ter, came up in this wise : Several solid old 
farmer Union Democrats treated us right royally 
in the way of nice dinners, suppers and recep- 
tions, and had our experience been as ripe 
as it is now, and our judgment of men and 
things as well matured as now, we could have 
appreciated the fact that they wanted to enter- 
tain us as one of their boys and hear us talk as 
a Texan and not as a soldier. But having just 
returned from pi'ison, we were neckful of bitter- 
ness and war, and as vicious as a rattlesnake in 
August. 

An appointment was made for us to break 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 127 

bread and eat salt at a Sunday dinner with Mr. 
Fonntain Larrison. Quite a crowd had collected 
and in the crowd were two or three Miss Cling- 
ans visiting the Misses Larrisons. After serving 
a good dinner, we were all sitting on the long 
front portico, and the writer was entertaining 
them, as he thought, by sailing into Grant, Lin- 
coln, Sherman, Union men and the United States 
government generally, when all at once the 
young ladies took French leave. We heard 
them in the parlor tittering and laughing im- 
moderately, but had no idea that they were put- 
ting up a job on an officer in his majesty, Jeff- 
erson Davis' army, but all doubts on that score 
were removed when a bouquet about the size of 
a half-bushel, lit in our lap. In quantity and 
construction it was all right, but it was made 
of dog fennel, tanzy, bull nettle, sprigs of 
oak brush, withered roses and jimson blos- 
soms. It was a pretty deep, keen cut at the 
time, but as the years roll by and we get 
on a higher plane from which we survey these 
things, we see them in a different light. In 
a word, we were their guest and should have 
had good manners enough to have had some 
respect for their opinions. But ''what fools 



128 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

these mortals be." This experience should 
have taught us a lesson, but it seems knocking 
down was not enough for us. We had to be 
knocked down and dragged out for we went 
over to Cleveland the next day and were invited 
to dinner at the old " Stewart Tavern." It 
was kejDt by a preacher by the name of Trim, 
who had about six old maid daughters, and 
they were all Andy Johnson Union Democrats, 
and of course our going amongst them was like 
putting fire in dry stubble. They had us cor- 
nered, and we were fighting right and left, like 
a loafer wolf, when a long, lean Florida provost- 
guard stepped in and called for our papers. 
"We had them, but they were out of date. He 
marched us off to headquarters, and the six 
girls, when we saw them last, were spread out 
on the parlor floor laughing as if their hearts 
would break. We have devoted this much 
time and space to our personal experience and 
plead in extenuation of the offense, the disposi- 
tion we have to tell the truth, that by our exper- 
ience young men may learn a lesson in common- 
sense manners. One more instance, however, 
of how the tail feathers can be pulled from a 
young man's pride, and we pass along. On 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 129 

oiir way to Tulahoma, Temi., to where our 
command had been ordered, the train stopped at 
a station called Stephenson, Ala., the con- 
ductor, Mr. Russell, came after the writer in 
hot haste, remarking that a lady wanted to see 
him. We went with him into the depot. 
There was a big crowd, it made room for us, 
and a very pretty woman dressed in black ap- 
proached Avith a very pretty bouquet. She 
made a pretty little speech, eulogizing 
the Texas troops generally, and those of 
the Arkansas Post in particular. "We stood 
uncovered of course and received the bunch of 
flowers, and our vanity said we could make a 
speech in reply and being in the habit of be- 
lieving everything. We sailed in ; in a loud 
voice we said : " Fair donor. Ladies and gen- 
tle — " this was all there was in us, for we broke 
down and commenced to bow ourself out of it. 
We bowed, backed and bowed, and backed until 
we backed and fell off of the platform and the 
crowd yelled. While the bouquet was very 
pretty and smelled sweet yet when w^e got it into 
the car we felt like putting it on the floor and 
jumping on it with all four of our feet. But 
vanity always goes before a fall. 



130 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

At Tiilahoma, because of the depletions by 
death and other causes, our command was con- 
sohdated. The 6th, 10th, and 15th Texas reg- 
iments were made into one and Col. E. Q. Mills 
was put in command of it. The 17th, 18th, 
24th and 25th Texas regiments were made into 
one and Col. Gillespie was put in command. In 
the consolidation a great many officers were 
superannuated and ordered to report to the com- 
mander of the Trans- Mississippi department. 
The writer and W. C. Burris, of McKinney, 
Texas, were retained; the former was trans- 
ferred from his company '' B " and assigned to 
duty in company ^' I, " from Johnson County, 
Texas, while the latter remained with the com- 
pany. We remained some ten days at Tula- 
homa in a sort of lay-around-do-nothing state. 
We were then marched to Wartrace and put in- 
to Maj.-Gen. P. E. Cleburne's division; camp 
rumor had it that no division commander wanted 
us. Gen. Cleburne interviewed Brig, -Gen. 
Deshler, our commander, and afterwards had 
us on review in a meadow near Wartrace, and 
after running his Irish military eye down our 
line, said: ''This is a fine, handsome looking 
body of young men, and material out of which 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 131 

good soldiers can be made." At this time our 
brigade was known as Deshler's Texas Brigade, 
had just 1,700 men, and we were all between 
the ages of 21 and 35, all the overs and unders 
having been let out by reason of the conscript 
law. And while our brigade was as fine a body 
of young men as ever was commanded by 
Napoleon or Wellington, yet no commander 
wanted us, because as camp rumor had it 
the surrender at Arkansas Post was a dis- 
graceful affair. They not knowing that three 
thousand of us had fought forty thousand 
for two days, to say nothing of a fine fleet of 
gun-boats. 

Brig. -Gen. Woods' Mississippi Brigade of 
Cleburne's division seemed to take a sort of 
delight in poking fun at us. They laughed be- 
fore they were out of the woods ; we got it 
back on them at the battle of Chickamauga, 
which will come up in this history later on. 
While at Wartrace, Gen. Cleburne person- 
ally supervised the drilling of our brigade. 
One more instance of how soldiers will get along 
in camps and try to put on airs and we pass 
along. Jim Hardin, of Wise County, had 
foraged around and caught up with a piece of 



132 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

bacon and he and the writer made it up at once 
to give a dinner to a very few special friends. 
We viewed an Irish potato patch near by 
and gathered potato tops with an occasional 
leaf of lamb's quarter to make up a dish of bacon 
and greens for dinner, while Jim raided an 
apple orchard near by for fruit for a pot pie. 
The apples were about the size of a grape shot, 
with the bloom still sticking to the end of them. 
Cold water, flour and the apples as a starter to- 
ward our pot pie ; boiled the bacon and Irish 
potato tops and sat down to a regular feast. 
The dinner was a great success ; to some it was 
like the pills made from the bark of the black 
walnut when skinned up, to others the bark was 
sldnned down. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 133 



CHAPTEE XV. 

BRAGG KETREATS FROM SITELBYVILLE AND WAR- 
TRACE — FORMS A LINE AT TULAIIOMA — 
SHOWS FIGHT AT ELK RIVER, BUT CROSSES 
THE CUMBERLAND MOUNTAINS — EXPERIENCE 
WITH BUSHWHACKERS. 

During the month of June, 1863, we were 
kept on the move, that is, we ate no idle bread. 
It was one round of duty day in and day out, 
company drill, regimental and brigade drill, 
guard mount and inspection, and company roll 
called five times each day. We Texas fellows 
^' kicked like bay steers " at this ; it was hard for 
the wild western boys to submit to the red tape 
regularity, and seeming aristocracy of the regular 
army, for Bragg' s army came as near filling the 
measure of regular troops at this time as any 
volunteer army ever did. Our brigade command- 
er, A. Deshler, had resigned a captain commis- 
sion in the U. S. army, his adjutant-general, 
Joseph T. Hearn, of Galveston, Texas, had a 



134 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

finished military education and was the bns^ade 
ideal of an all-round soldier. Lieut. George 
Jewell filled the place of brigade ordnance of- 
ficer and he always had the appearance of hav- 
ing just hopped out of a band-box. Our camp 
was on a nice imdulating piece of ground and if 
the poet, Bryant, puts it right when he says 
"The groves Avere God's first temples," the 
thick, rich foliage of the sugar tree, the beach 
and the grand oaks that shaded our camp at 
Wartrace, Tennessee, were his chief of temples. 
The grounds were kept by order as clean as a 
new pin, and we almost feel the cool w^ind to- 
day as it comes over the meadow down beyond 
the railroad bridge making w^ave chase wave in 
the little field of wheat on the hill-side and put- 
ting a flutter in the folds of our flag that has 
been hanging lazily on its staff at Col. Mills' 
headquarters. But all this drilling, inspection, 
dress parade and cleaning of old rusty guns 
came to an end, for after ten minutes' notice on 
the morning of June 28th, we had packed our 
traps and were in line moving with the head of 
our column going toward Blue Bird Gap. The 
Federal army under command of Gen. Rosen- 
crans was on the move pressing, we supposed, all 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 135 

along Bragg' s front, whose right was some- 
where near McMinville and his left at Shelby- 
ville. When our brigade arrived at the Gap 
already named, quite a lively skirmish was 
going on. We were put in line in a wheat field 
on the safe side of a hill. Woods' Mississippi 
Brigade were in line a few spaces lower dow^n 
the hill and in our rear. The Texas boys here 
got in some work on the ' ' mud-heads ' ' as we 
called them. The ground was covered with a 
sort of iron ore pebbles ; the Texans would flip 
these pebbles right over the heads of the Missis- 
sippians in such manner as to make them sing 
like a minnie ball, and they stuck their heads so 
close to the ground that their mustaches took 
root and commenced to grow. We had fun 
enough for all until they caught us in the trick. 
That night we were marched back to the camp 
we had left in the morning ; passing through a 
little town called Bellbuckle, on the 29th the 
whole army seemed to be on the move towards 
Tulahoma. On July 1st, Bragg strung out his 
long line of infantry in front of Tulahoma as if 
he intended to make fight, but after waiting 
and watching all day, no enemy appearing, late 
in the evening we were put on the move again 



13(3 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

and to our astonishment in the direction of 
Chattanooga. About day Ught we crossed Elk 
river and went into camps footsore, weary and 
out of humor generally, then commenced the 
figuring by all the boys as to what was the mat- 
ter that the great army of Tennessee should 
be retreating. The conclusion was pretty gen- 
erally reached that old Rosencrans was flanking 
us, but this did not satisfy, for the boys insisted 
that if he flanked us why in the Hades couldn't 
we flank him, and by the way it seems to us yet 
that there was some good philosophy in the idea 
especially in the light of the way the thing 
panned out. About 3 o'clock in the evening 
we were ordered to recross the river, and move 
back toward the enemy. This suited us, for we 
were red hot for a fight. We traveled about 
two miles and formed a line of battle at right 
angles to and across the big road. The enemy 
were advancing cautiously in line and everything 
indicated that the ball would open right there. 
Col. Mills made us a speech. We remember one 
sentence of it, it ran something like this : '^ Texas 
cavalry on the right, Texas cavalry on the left, 
a Texas battery in the center, all supported by 
Texas Infantry and who dare come against us." 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 137 

A little brush on our left by the cavalry about 
sundown was all there was in it. About an 
hour after dark Ave moved out, and as we crossed 
the long wooden bridge on the river we noticed 
several piles of rich pine split very fine and laid 
on it. We knew that this spelled that it would 
be burned as soon as we got through with it in 
order to delay the Yankees in their forward 
movement. We marched all night and about 
12 o'clock on July the 4th we stopped to rest 
at the foot of the rock ribbed and ancient 
Cumberland mountain. Here the writer had a 
chill and consequently high fever. Getting per- 
mission to march at will from Dr. Stuart, our 
regimental surgeon, Ave lost sight of the boys 
for several days, for notwithstanding we were 
sick enough to be ^' abed," Ave out-traveled them 
by a fine majority, and besides they were 
delayed in guarding our supply train. We 
remember passing a place on the mountain 
called Polk's University Place. The trip was a 
rough experience for a sick man, but we had it 
down that Ave were not going to be captured, 
and we counted every step as one more in the 
direction or getting out of the way. About 
noon on the fifth we marched down a deep 
gorge, by a big blue spring that was boiling 



138 UNWRITTEN HISTOHY OF THE 

with cold water enough to float an ordinary 
•steamboat; ^a little further on we came to a 
comfortable looking farmhouse. We were so 
sick and worn out that we went into the yard 
and laid down on the grass in a deep shade 
with our mind made up to stop there until 
we got well, died or was captured by the 
Yankees. From where Ave were lying we could 
see a little field up near the spring, and the wheat 
was yet in the shocks ; several teamsters went 
in with a view of getting forage for their teams. 
The Union or some other kind of bushwhackers 
fired on them from above in the thick woods on 
the side of the mountain. This put a new spur 
in our head and two on our heels, cooled our 
fever and gave us a new pair of legs, for if there 
is anything that a regular soldier has a holy, 
healthy horror for it is a bushwhacker. We 
climbed over the fence and was just moving off 
when one of the 11th Texas cavalry came 
along on foot; he broke open the farmer's 
stable and borrowed two pretty good horses. 
We asked him if a divide wouldn't be the cor- 
rect thing, he said he thought not, " for horse- 
back riding was liable to make an infantryman's 
head swim, however, I might ride one of them 
as long as we traveled the same road." 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 139 



CHAPTEK XVI. 

CROSSING THE TENNESSEE RIVER — GEN. HAR- 
DEE JUMPS IN THE RIVER AFTER A WILD 
TEXAN — WE FIND A MOONSHINER — THE 
COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHICKAMAUGA CAM- 
PAIGN. 

We are yet away from our command, and to 
continue our reminiscence will necessarily 
have to deal in personal experiences until we 
strike it again. Pretty early the next morning 
we came to the Tennessee river ; our haversack 
was in a distressingly lean condition, and we 
were yet sick, the flux having joined in with the 
fever and chills, and strange as it may seem, yet 
it is no stranger than true, that a big bait of 
half ripe apples cured us sound and well. We 
sloshed around in the orchard all day, slept in 
an old out-house at night, and went on our way 
the next morning well, hearty and as gay as 
any soldier in the Confederacy. Pretty soon 
we came to where pontoons were laid across the 



140 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

great Crooked river, and just as we expected 
the provost-guard were taking up all who pro- 
posed crossing, and herding them until their 
command came up. They were having some 
difficulty in holding them. We all wanted to 
get the river between us and the Yankees, 
just as quick as possible. This we ac- 
count for on the hypothesis, the longer and 
further a soldier retreats, the moi'e earnest he 
gets in the matter, and the harder it is for him 
to find a place where he thinks it is safe to make 
a stand. Our corps commander. Gen. Hardee, 
was there ; a long, keen Texas soldier said he 
was going over anyhow ; when he started. Gen. 
Hardee drew his sword and made a dive at him. 
The fellow jumped into the river and the Gen- 
eral plunged in after him on horseback. This 
created some excitement and no little amusement 
for the boys, and while all eyes were turned 
to the general and the private, we walked 
on to the bridge and crossed over, went up to 
the hill and down the big road whistling a tune 
of childish joy. Pretty soon our educated forage 
eyes discovered a trail leading off down through 
the great woodland. We walked therein and 
*' got there Eli," with both feet; after going 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 141 

about a mile we came to a big blue Tennessee 
spring, and while standing and watching the 
cool blue water boil up we heard a noise just 
above us in the thick brush on the hill-side. 
Says I, " what are you doing up thar? " ''It's 
none of yer business," says he. " "Well, we will 
see about that thar," says I. We climbed around 
the bluff up to where he was, and to our astonish- 
ment and exceedingly great joy we found 
?iim to be an East Tennessee moonshiner. The 
scales dropped from over our eyes at once, and 
we could reasonably account for the trail we had 
been traveling being worn as slick as an otter 
slide. He had a keg of very fine corn whisky, 
we sampled it over and again ; for a five dol- 
lar Confederate bill he filled our quart canteen, 
and when we slung it around our neck, he bade 
us good-day with the remark : " Go on your 
way, and tell no man." We had not gone many 
leagues l)efore we were seriously discussing the 
matter of suggesting to President Davis the 
propriety of relieving Gen. Bragg and putting 
us in command of the army. We foraged 
around over the country generally during the 
day and at nightfall we went into camps with 
the boys under the shadow of Lookout moun- 



142 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

tain. After two or three days' rest, we were 
shipped on the ears and 'went into camps near 
Tyners station, on the Chattanooga & Cleveland 
Railway. Here we were put through the same 
hard drilling and camp routine of duty as at 
Wartraee. This was the second time the army 
of Tennessee had been camped in the country 
about Chattanooga, hence it was an exceedingly 
lean country so far as good foraging was con- 
cerned, no hogs, no sheep, no goats, no chick- 
ens. We could not even " get a piece of bacon 
for a sick captain." While here Serg. George 
Dean and Corpl. J. P. Fullingim, of Company 
^ ' B " were sent with a squad of men to guard 
an important bridge on the Chickamauga. The 
weather was warm. Dean and Fullingim spread 
their blankets for a sleep on the high grade near 
the end of the bridge, yet out of the way of the 
train. Away in the night, while they were 
sound asleep dreaming of conquering the enemy 
and of being promoted to captains and colonels, 
and being put in command of such posts as 
Boston and New York, a train came dashing 
along ; they mistook it for a chai'ge of Federal 
cavalry and jumped from the high bridge some 
forty feet into the creek below. It was a mira- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 143 

cle that they were not killed, but they were not 
to go that way. An instance of how men will 
get scared and stampede like cattle will come 
up in these reminiscences later on. After about 
twelve days at Tyners' Station our division was 
marched to old Harrison, the original county site 
of Hamilton County, Tennessee, to do picket 
duty on the river. The change suited us to a '^T," 
for the foraging was better in the valley farms 
of the river. We found plenty of ripe sweet po- 
tatoes, green corn, and garden truck, and while 
the orders forbidding foraging were strict, and 
the provost guard on the watch, yet we managed 
to beat them all and lived fine. While here sev- 
eral of us run the gauntlet and went over into 
the old, very old city. A Union widow lady and 
her seven grown daughters kept the hotel for 
the city. We ordered dinner for our crowd and 
got it ; but it did not stay with us, for these 
good Union ladies either by mistake or on pur- 
pose put something in it that made us all deathly 
sick for an hour or two. We humped and 
bucked around there like Spanish ponies, in our 
efforts to throw it up ; medical men may know 
what it was when we say that it so affected our 
eyes that there were two of everything we looked 



144 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

at ; we all got over it and did not tell it when we 
returned to camps. The joke was too good to 
tell. 

On the morning of September 5th, 1863, we 
commenced the first move that culminated in the 
great battle of Chickamauga, just fourteen days 
afterwards. Our division was marched back to 
Tyners' Station, and that night to Chattanooga. 
The weather was exceedingly warm, and an all 
day and quite all night forced march was pretty 
trying on us. The roads were very dusty, 
and in avoiding it the men would march in 
the hog trails, and by ways on each side 
of the big road. The writer was following 
along after a fellow by the name of Geo. 
Couch, of the 18th regiment; the dirt road ap- 
proached the railroad diagonally; as it came in 
on our right, by the star-light, we mistook the 
cut in the railroad for another dirt road. 
Couch walked off into it and fell some twenty 
feet, breaking his collar-bone, as well as shaking 
him up generally. A guard was placed there 
at once, or no telling how many of the boys 
would have tumbled into a ditch they did not 
dig. On we went through Chattanooga, and 
were halted some time between midnight and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 145 

'daylight at the base of Lookout Mountain, on 
the morning of the 6th, footsore and weary. 
Our division moved up the valley and rested at 
night near the Crawford Springs. 

The idea of our army giving up the city of 
Chattanooga, the gate to the center of the Con- 
federacy, was trying on our confidence in Gen. 
Bragg and all others in authority over us, and 
the saying of all the boys was : ^'If we can't 
check them and whip them with the advantages 
of the river and the mountain-locked passes on 
the right and left of Chattanooga, where is the 
place we can?" And this added to the recent 
fall of Vicksburg made the outlook gloomy 
indeed. 

On the 16th, Bragg' s army with the ex- 
ception of Buckner's division, which was march- 
ing from Bull's Gap, was massed between La- 
fayette, Georgia and McLemors' Cove. At 
this time, we boys had it that three corps of 
Rosencrans army were distributed along the 
Tennessee as follows : McCook at Old Harrison, 
twenty-five miles above Chattanooga ; Critten- 
den at Chattanooga, and Thomas at Bridgeport, 
twenty-five miles below Chattanooga; but we 

10 



148 



UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



are invading the province of the sure enough 
historian and must content ourself with chop- 
])ing it off with a promise of a description of 
the miscarriage of Bragg' s well laid plans in the 
McLemors' Cove move in our next chapter. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 147 



CHAPTEK XVII. 

BRAGG ABANDONS CHATTANOOGA — HIS FAILURE 
TO BAG THOMAS AT m'lEMORE'S COVE NE- 
CESSITATES THE GREAT BATTLE OE CHICK- 
AMAUGA. 

Doubtless, Bragg moving out his army in 
such hot haste, and abandoning such a naturally 
strong position as the Chattanooga line was 
an open confession to Gen. Rosencrans of his 
inability to give him battle, and made him very 
eager to catch up with us. Now McLemore's 
Cove is a section of country of some several 
thousand acres locked in by high mountains with 
only three passes, two of which we held, the one 
to the southeast and the other outlet to the north- 
east. Gen. Thomas with an estimated force of 
16,000 Federals crossed the river and marched 
into the Cove through the south pass, on the 
morning of the 10th, Gen. Bragg deployed 
Polk's Corps on the left, and Hardee's on the 
right, covering the two passes already named. 



148 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

while Gen. Hindman with a division made a 
detour to the right, with an old citizen as guide, 
to cover the gap through which Gen. Thomas 
had come, thus having him entirely cut off. 
We write thus boldly concerning these great 
movements of the army, because of speaking 
advisedly. The writer had the honor of being 
on pretty intimate terms with Maj. Dickson 
and Capt. Buck of Gen. Cleburne's staff, and 
besides all of the boys seemed in some sort of 
way to fully understand the situation ; but to re- 
turn. Gen. Hindman's guide either misled him 
intentionally or he was not acquainted with the 
country, and Hindman's command failed to reach 
the gap on time, and when Polk and Hardee's 
troops moved on Thomas at the appointed time, 
he ' ' picked himself up and moved out pell-mell 
through the gap he had come in at. This 
trifling mistake by Hindman saved sixteen 
thousand Yankees from being captured and 
made the great battle of Chickamauga neces- 
sary, besides causing the loss of Chattanooga." 
The Yankees left in such hot haste they left 
lots of good picking for us. After nightfall, 
footsore, weary and disappointed, we marched 
back to the highlands where we had left on 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 149 

the morning. Our brigade slept on their 
arms on a small strip of ground between the 
big road and a high rail fence, and right here 
occurred an instance of how men will stampede 
like cattle. We were all in a sound sleep ; just 
across the road some horses and mules were 
tied to caissons and portable forges ; they got to 
kicking and fighting and rattled their chains. 
The boys all seemed to wake at the same time, 
and each fellow thought that the camps were 
full of loose horses running over and trampling 
people to death, and each fellow seemed to think 
that his neighbor was a loose horse, and w^e 
pitched into fighting each other with our blan- 
kets, sticks or anything we could get our hands 
on. Everybody w^as hallooing " whoa," 
" whoa." The writer tried to climb a black 
oak tree near by that was at least four feet over 
and fifty feet to the first limb. Captain J. A. 
Formwalt, our company commander, had backed 
himself up against it and he said he knocked 
us down three times before he could keep 
us from climbing right over him. In the wild 
rush we tore down the high fence, run over 
Lieut. Bartow and broke his right arm, besides 
crippling several others. Just inside the fence 



150 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

was an orchard, and after quiet had been 
restored, we found several of the boys perched 
like fighting chickens up in the apple trees, and 
yet sound asleep ; this is a pretty strong one, 
rather too heavy to go down slick and easy, 
therefore we refer to such eye-witnesses as 
Lieut. W. B. Brown, Hugh McKenzie, C. A. 
Williams, C. L. Smith, all of Denton, Texas, 
T. J. Cartwright and J. P. FulHngim, of Wise 
County, and Col. R. Q. Mills, of Corsicana. 
After two days we were moved back in the di- 
rection of Chattanooga, and took a position at 
Bluebird Gap, in the Mission ridge range. It 
was here we got a good look at Gen. Jno. C. 
Breckenridge of Kentucky. He was the finest 
looking man we saw during the Avar. Friday 
morning, the 18th of September, everything 
seemed to be moving back towards Chatta- 
nooga. We were moving north, there was 
quite a high wind blowing, the dust in the road 
was deep, making it very disagreeable ; in the 
evening we could hear heavy cannonading 
away to the right. We slept on our arms. 
Saturday the 19th, about 12 o'clock, our 
line Avas put in motion, moving slowly north- 
ward doAvn on the east of Chickamauga; the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 15 L 

cannonading was kept np all day, growing 
more terrific in the evening, the boys all looked 
serious, few were the jokes cracked, all realized 
that blood was going to be shed and the ground 
torn up in that neighborhood pretty soon. 
About five o'clock we could hear the musketry. 
]N'ow we are wading the swift cold Chickamauga, 
now in a double quick, and just as the blood-red 
sun seemed to rest on top of Mission Ridge, 
taking a last look for the day at the two great 
armies of one blood and one nation, as they were 
in battle array against each other, we were 
swung into line of battle on Cheatham's left, and 
just as soon as our line dressed to the right we 
moved forward. It was now quite dark, but we 
struck the Federal line and moved it. The right 
of our brigade got mixed up with them in the 
darkness and captured many prisoners. This 
ended the battle for the day. "We lay in line of 
battle all night ; the ground we occupied had 
been fought over several times during the day ; 
the dead and wounded were all about us all 
night we could hear the wounded between ours 
and the Federal lines calling some of their com- 
rades by name and begging for water. The 
night was cold and crisp, and the dense wood- 



152 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

land was dark and gloomy; the bright stars 
above us and flickering light from some old 
dead pine trees that were burning in an old field 
on our left and in front, giving every thing a 
wierd, ghostly appearance. The writer found 
a dead Federal soldier near our company line ; 
we felt around in the darkness and found his 
gun ; we relieved him of his cartridge box and 
sixty rounds of ammunition, and fitting it to our 
own waist, we felt prepared for the work on the 
morrow. Those of our readers who have had 
the strength of their nerves tried by going into 
battle armed with a little wrought iron sword 
only, can appreciate how we felt when armed 
with a good gun and plenty of ammunition. 
The Federal line was about four hundred 
yards from ours, and all night long we could 
hear them felling the big poplar and pine 
trees, from behind which they would fight us the 
next day. Our line was changed several times 
during the night, and notwithstanding we had 
slept but little, and had been on the march for 
the last fourteen days and nights, sleep seemed 
to have gone from our eyes, and slumber from 
our eyelids, and as we lay there with our faces 
turned up towards the heavens watching the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 153 

bright stars and listening to the twitter of the 
little birds in their nests in the wild wood, many, 
many, many a soldier asked himself the question, 
what is all this about? Why is it that one Imn- 
dred and twenty thousand men of one blood and 
one tongue, believing as one man in the father- 
hood of God and the universal brotherhood of 
man should in the blaze of the civilization of the 
nineteenth century of the Christian era, be thus 
armed with all the improved appliances of 
modern warfare and seeking each other's lives? 
The truth of the matter is just this, many a 
soldier on both sides said to himself and his next 
friend, if you will pick out the man or men that I 
have to whip or kill if this thing goes on, we can 
settle the matters of differences by compromis- 
ing, and all be at home in ten days. During the 
night Longstreet's corps of Lee's army arrived 
and took up position on our left. The disposi- 
tion of Bragg' s army at this time, as well as 
we boys could locate it, was Gen. Leonidas 
Polk's corps of Louisiana, Tennessee and 
Georgia troops on the right. Gen. D. H. Hill's 
corps of Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi 
troops in the center, and Gen. Longstreet's on 
the left. 



154 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

THE GREAT BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUOA. 

Sunday morning, September the 20th, 1863, 
the sun came up bright and cheery from over on 
the other side of the Bhie Ridge, and the reflec- 
tion on the autumn leaves as their shadows 
danced in the clear waters of the Chickaniauga, 
tinged the great w^oodland hi amber and gold. 
The boys all looked serious and determined, 
doubtless appreciating the fact, that before the 
sun went out of sight on the other side of Mis- 
sionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, that 
many of them will have crossed over the river, 
and their spirits gone up from amidst the din 
and smoke of battle, to the home of good sol- 
diers and patriots beyond the stars. 

After a breakfast, on blue Florida beef, corn 
bread washed down w^ith cold water, and our 
canteens filled with Adam's ale, we w^ere in line 
impatiently waiting for the w^orst that might 
come, for a certainty of something bad falling 
to our lot is preferable to suspense after reach- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 155 

ing a certain point incident to long watching and 
waiting. The writer yet had his gnn, and dis- 
covered that several captains and lieutenants had 
fitted themselves with gun and ammunition. 
Pretty soon one who seemed to have the right 
kind of authority came down the line and dis- 
armed us, leaving us nothing to go to battle 
with but our little straight Confederate sword, 
so dull that it wouldn't cut cheese and too blunt 
to stick into a stack of hay. If David's sword 
had been as dull as ours, he would have been saw- 
ing on the tough neck of old Goliah to this good 
day. Why all this delay? The fact is the battle 
was to begin at daylight and here it is 9 o'clock 
and everything away to the right, where Polk 
was to bring on the attack at dayliglit, is as 
quiet as a May morning. But here, something 
is going to happen now. Here comes the " old 
war horse" himself. General Bragg riding down 
and inspecting his lines of battle. The boys 
feel that the moments are big with events ; they 
tiglitened their belts, pulled their hats well down 
on their heads, and at the command, right dress, 
all elbows touch to the i-ight as if on dress- 
parade. As the boom of the big cannon off 
to the right dies away against the rock-ribbed 



156 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

sides of Missionary E-idge, the command, " for- 
ward march," came down the line from the 
right, and as the sound of musketry came from 
the right our army seemed to be advancing in 
echelon by brigade. Capt. Rhodes Fisher of 
Austin, Texas, commanding company ''G" 
of the 6th, 10th and 15th Texas regiments, 
advanced in front of our regiment as skir- 
mishers. Several from Denton County, Texas, 
were members of this company. We well 
remember Sergt. Dick Harper ; he had a fog- 
horn voice. We could hear him repeat the com- 
mands after Capt. Fisher above all others. Dick 
was a mere boy but a soldier on every part of 
the ground. Woods' Mississippi brigade was on 
our right. As we advanced the boys would 
salute strange soldiers as we passed them and 
crack jokes as if feeling relieved at the certainty 
of ending the campaign, one way or the other 
pretty soon. We were moving in the line of 
battle, at least four hundred pieces of artillery 
were booming, the earth seemed to be trembling 
under this and the tread of the mighty armies. 
The enemy's skirmishers are run in. Capt. 
Fisher's company had rallied on the center and 
resumed their place in the regiment. On we 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 157 

go. All at once an ai'tillery officer comes down 
the line on horseback, going at a speed as if 
shot from a cannon, giving the command as he 
passed: ^'By the right flank, double quick, 
march !" We were going nearly on a run, just 
now a cannon-ball cuts a pine tree down, strik- 
ing it some forty feet from the ground ; it fell 
lengthwise on Capt. Rhoades Fisher's company, 
and strange to say, it did not cripple any one 
seriously. After moving to the right about the 
length of our brigade, we were halted, line dress- 
ed and moved forward. We were thus moved to 
the right under fire in this sort of hot haste to 
fill a gap caused by Wood's Mississippi brigade 
giving away. This was the outfit that had 
poked so much fun at us Texas fellows, 
and the boys seemed to enjoy it as a good 
joke on the mud-heads. Pretty soon we 
were brought to a halt, close by where the 
writer was lying down. Gen. Longstreet 
was sitting on his horse ; we did not know who 
he was, he having no mark of an officer about 
him, wearing a common hunting shirt and a 
slouch hat. Ad Anderson of the Wise County 
Company '' B " had been on the front and used 
his gun until it got so foul that it choked ; he 



158 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

came back leisurely and passed through our 
Ime, when Gen. Longstreet said to him: 
''' Hello, my good fellow, you are not going to 
leave us, are you? " Ad stopped and looked up 
at Mm and said, " See here, you d — old hunt- 
mg-shirt snoozer, do you know who you are 
talking to? " Longstreet laughed heartily at 
the reply, explained who he was ; he and Pri- 
vate Anderson quit good friends. Anderson 
w^as about six feet four inches, and as brave 
as Gen. Longstreet or anybody else. Pretty 
soon we were ordered forward, and as we 
reached the crest of the hill m our front, we 
struck the same sawyer that had knocked 
"Woods' brigade out at the. first round. The 
rain of lead that the Federals poured into our 
line w^as simply terrific. Our loss in officers and 
men for the first few minutes was alarming in 
the extreme. Capt. Jack Leonard, late banker 
at Dallas, Texas, commanding Company '' E," 
lost in killed and wounded twenty-eight men, 
out of a company of about fifty. This seemed 
to be a key or the turning point in the great 
battle, and we were ordered to he flat down 
and hold it. Li a very short time the men were 
out of ammunition. The writer was ordered by 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. -159 

Capt. J. A. Farmwalt of Hood County to report 
the fact to Col. Mills. Mills ordered us to 
report to Brig. -Gen. Deshler. We went in 
search of Gen. Deshler and found him on the 
line to our right, down on his hands and knees, 
as if trying to see below the smoke and discover 
the position of the enemy. When we Avere in 
about ten feet of him and before we had delivered 
the order a bomb shell struck and killed him 
instantly. We reported the fact at once to Col. 
Mills and he took command of the brigade and 
directed its movements with marked skill and 
cool bravery the remainder of the day. We 
held the position until Polk's corps turned the 
enemy's left and Longstreet his right. A gen- 
eral rout of the whole Federal army occurred 
just before sun-down, and we never were as glad 
of anything before nor since in all our long 
line of experience ; and when the stars came out 
everything was as quiet as death on the field of 
Chickamauga. We went into camps on the 
battle-field while the Yankees were running over 
each other in their wild efforts to get into 
Chattanooga and to put the Tennessee river 
between " we 'uns and you un's." 



160 UNWKITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

A DAY ON THE FIELD OF CHICKAMAUGA AFTER 
THE GREAT BATTLE — WE SEE MANY WONDER- 
FUL THINGS — THE HORRORS OF WAR. 

The blood red sun has gone down over 
beyond the great range of mountains, deep 
darkness has spread its mantle over the field of 
Chickamanga, and the heart sinking silence 
that prevailed after the great battle, is disturbed 
only by the groans of the wounded and the 
hum of the many voices as the soldiers would in 
deep tones inquire for missing comrades, and 
earnestly congratulate each other upon the suc- 
cess of the day. 

Our brigade was moved a little way back 
towards Chickamauga creek, and went into 
camps. We were yet on the battle-field ; the 
dead in gray and blue were around us on every 
hand. It has always been a mystery to us, why 
Gen. Bragg had his army to remain on the 
field twenty-four hours after the battle had ended. 
The sickening sight we saw there, of men 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 161 

wounded, and mangled in every way imaginaljle, 
was certainly enough to convince all, that war is 
a cruel thing, and an unnatural way of settling 
difficulties, and that the civilization of this age 
of the world, should take it by the beard and 
drive it back to its native hell. But the ques- 
tion as to whether there is such a thing as a 
righteous war, has nothing to do with this 
writing at this time. Our aim being as before 
remarked, and hinted at in our head lines, is to 
give the unwritten history of the experiences of 
the private soldiers and officers of the line, with 
whom we were associated for three years, three 
months and twenty-five days. Strange as it 
may seem, yet no stranger than true, we spread 
our home-made blankets and slept sweetly and 
soundly on the field of death that Sunday night. 
"We remained there all day Monday. Monday 
morning bright and early the writer borrowed 
a staff-officer's horse, ostensibly for the purpose 
of going to Chickamauga creek for several can- 
teens of water, but really to take a ride over the 
battle-field. We were out some five or six hours 
on horseback, and put in the remainder of the 
day traveling over the field on foot, and now 
reader, " listen, and we will to thee a tale unfold, 



162 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

whose lightest word will harrow up thy soul, 
freeze thy blood. Make thy two eyes, like stars, 
start from their spheres. Thy knotted and 
combined locks to part ; and each particular 
hair to stand on end, like the quills upon the 
fretful porcupine." As indicated in the last 
chaj)ter, the Federals had felled many of the big 
pine and poplar trees in such a manner as to 
afford them splendid protection ; and from be- 
hind this sort of protection we had to charge and 
drive them, and the wonder to this day is, how 
did we do it? Fact is none but the impetuous hot. 
blooded Southern soldiers could have done it. 
Our loss was necessarily large, and the results 
as they panned out afterwards, made it a very 
high-priced victory. But we must return to the 
matter of telling what we saw on the battle- 
field. We saw men cold and stiff in death, and 
yet holding on to their gun ; some with the ram- 
rod yet in their hand; some with paper yet 
between their teeth, just as they had bitten it 
from the cartridge for loading, and the car- 
tridge yet held by their thumb, middle and 
forefinger as if in the act of emptying the pow- 
der into their gun. On that part of the field 
where the Tennessee troops had such a terrific 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES = 163 

battle with MichigcUi troops, supporting a steel 
battery of twelve guns, we found many things 
to wonder at. A Federal had been wounded in the 
knee, had crawled behind a log, was sitting with 
back to it, and was binding up his wound, when 
he was shot m the head ; his head dropped over 
on his shoulder ; he remained sitting with his 
hands yet holding to the linen he was trying to 
bind his wound with. Hard by him w^e found a 
very fine looking dog riddled with bullets. Just 
across the road we found a Confederate, still in 
death, yet sitting with his back against a tree, 
his eyes blared wide open. We found several 
dead rabbits and birds. We found one man 
with his brains between his feet, a cannon ball 
had struck him so as to lift his entire head off, 
and as he fell his brains fell between his feet ; 
the lining or covering for them was not broken. 
We found some of the big logs from be- 
hind which the Federals fought, just bristling 
with ramrods : we account for this on the ground 
that we rebels were in such hot haste while ad- 
vancing, shooting and loading, that we did not 
take time to return the ramrods to their place 
but let the Federals have ramrods and all. We 
saw many whose hands and arms were in the ex- 



164 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

act position of holding their guns taking aim. 
We saw many who had heen stripped of all their 
clothing, and many whose pockets had been 
rifled and turned inside out. Men were wounded 
in every shape and place imaginable. Boone 
Daugherty, of Denton, and a member of Com- 
pany G., of the 18th Texas regiment says he is 
going back there one of these days to see " if 
the thirteen teeth the Yankees pulled for him and 
planted there have sprouted and produced any 
of their kind." 

By noon Monday the stench from dead men 
and horses was getting to be sickening. By 
sundown on the 21st the wounded had all been 
cared for and the dead buried. Monday night 
we moved in the direction of Chattanooga. 
Bragg seemed to move his army as leisurely as 
if there was no such thing as time affording the 
enemy an opportunity to get in good shape to 
receive him when he arrived at Chattanooga. 
On the morning of the 23d, Bragg' s army 
crossed over Missionary Ridge and formed a 
line extending from the Tennessee river 
above around the city of Chattanooga to the 
river below, taking possession of Lookout 
Mountain. Bragg bluffed around for two days 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 165 

as if he would hurl his already wounded and 
broken ai'my against the strong forts that we 
had constructed around Chattanooga with our 
own hands. The mistake of Gen. Bragg' s life 
was in not crowding the Federals while they 
were whipped and demoralized, and going into 
Chattanooga with them. Gen. Bragg sending 
out sounders to find out what the rank and file 
thought of charging the works around Chatta- 
nooga was a clear indication of his weakness, 
and Old Granny methods of thought. The ex- 
cuse put up that the Confederates wera too 
much exhausted to follow up the victory at 
Chickamauga on Sunday night, will not hold 
water, because the Federals had been marched 
just as hard as we had, and they not only got 
to Chattanooga that night, but all the means 
for crossing the river had to be destroyed to 
keep them from crossing over and pulling out 
every man on his own hook toward Nashville. 
Had Forrest or some young man been in com- 
mand, the results of the victory at Chickamauga 
would have been better for the Confederacy. 
But enough of this '' I told you so," business. 
Bragg, Polk, Hindman, Hill, Hardee, Long- 
street, Cheatham, Cleburne and Forrest have 



166 



UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



answered roll-call in the gi'eat camps beyond 
the river, and are resting nnder the shade of the 
trees, and the historian will come np far enongh 
removed from those stirring days to impartially 
locate the blame. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 167 



CHAPTER XX. 

SIX WEEKS IN PROXT OF CHATTANOOGA — HEAVY 
PICKET DUTY — HELL'S HALF ACRE — BIG 
GAME OF DRAW POKER — SIGNAL SERVICE. 

As already intimated, after two or three days 
waltzing around in the valley, our line settled 
down, extending from the river above the city, 
of Chattanooga, from a point qnite northeast of 
the city around south at the base of Missionary 
Ridge to a point quite northwest of the city, 
taking the high point of Lookout mountain 
commanding the river and railroads above and 
below the city, and the only route remaining 
over w^hich the Federal army could get supplies 
was by wagons on dirt roads over Waldon's 
Ridge. Being in the immediate presence of the 
enemy, we beat the Confederacy out of about 
six weeks' drilling. We put in a part of Sep- 
tember, October and a part of J^ovember in 
guard duty. The writer's brigade was near the 
center of the line. Guard duty was pretty try- 



168 UNWRITTEN HISTORY *OF THE 

ing ; our line of pickets was about two hundred 
yards from the Federal line ; we could see their 
pickets plainly, and when no big officer on 
either side w^as near, we would sometimes get up 
a temporary armistice, lay down our arms and 
meet on half way grounds and have a nice 
friendly chat, swapping our flat tobacco for Lin- 
coln coffee, our little 8x10 newspaper, '^ The 
Chattanooga Rebel," for their big blanket-sheet 
dailies, such as the ^ew York Herald, Tribune, 
Cincinnati Times and Louisville Journal. Some- 
times we would strike Federals on duty who 
would have none of us ; these were generally 
Pennsylvania troops. We could always get 
along with Ohio and other western troops, but 
those first named and all other eastern troops 
always seemed to have a big red mad on. 

Our bill of fare was pretty tough ; corn-bread 
and poor beef was about all we had as a rule, 
and when the rule was suspended, it was gener- 
ally by a day's rations of bacon. The writer's 
mess consisted of Capt. J. A. Farmwalt of 
Hood County, Texas, and Lieut. Jerry John- 
son of Johnston County ; Lieut. John Willing- 
ham belonged to it but he was generally at 
regimental headquarters acting as adjutant; we 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 169 

kept a cook hired, by the name of Ad Iliiff- 
stuttler, at $30.00 per month in Confederate 
money ; guess he was a Dutchman by his name, 
anyway he could forage and cook hke one ; he 
would prowl around the butcher pen, get beef 
heads, feet, liver, brains, sweet-breads, marrow, 
gut and other parts that we had always seen 
thrown away and make up messes nice enough 
for a king. He also done our washing and 
mending. When the day for the draw of old 
Ned came around as the boys called it, Capt. 
Farmwalt would be our head cook ; he would 
fry the grease out of the bacon, and with our 
corn-bread, water and the grease, make a dish 
he called " cush;" this with some of the corn- 
bread burned to a black crisp, out of which we 
made coffee, was fine living; however, we 
" reckon " the hard exercises each day and the 
total absence of anything like dyspepsia or indi- 
gestion was what made it all go down so well. 
It doubtless seems to the reader that the 
same routine of duty each day and night 
would get to be distressingly monotonous, but 
not so, there was something to be done every 
day, or some news going the rounds, and when 
not on guard duty, nor on the fatigue party list, 



170 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

nor putting some finishing touch in making our 
quarters more comfortable, and not writing let- 
ters home, or to two or three Georgia girls at 
the same time, we could go down to Hell's 
half agre. JS'ow this Avas a place in front of and 
near the center of our main line, and just in 
rear of our picket line, it being some three 
quarters of a mile in front of our line of battle. 
Here the thugs, thumpers and gamblers from 
our army as well as from Atlanta and other 
cities collected to gamble, and you could get a 
square np and up whack at any kind of game 
from faro, monte, draw-poker, seven-up, down to 
thimble ring poker-dice and three card monte. 
We don't know where the boys got the 
money, but they had stacks of gold, 
silver, greenbacks and Confederate. The 
place should have been called Hell's wdiole 
acre, for they had about that much ground 
worn as slick as glass, and more gambling 
going on than we have ever seen at one time 
since ; and more hard looking characters, — the 
Five Points of 'Ne^Y York City could not beat it 
even in its palmiest days. While here President 
Davis paid us a visit. His presence did not cre- 
ate any perceptible enthusiasm in the army ; the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 171 

thoughtful men could plainly see that the grand 
army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg 
had lost its grip. During our stay here, the 
Texas Brigade was reorganized, the 7th Texas 
infantry_, B. H. Granbury, colonel, and K. M. 
Van Zandt as major was put in it, with Dr. 
Lawrence, of Statesville, N. C, as regimental 
surgeon and Dr. C. Lipscomb, of Denton, 
Texas, assistant surgeon. The 3rd and 5th 
Confederate regiments of Memphis, Tenn., 
commanded by Col. Cole, were also put in our 
brigade. The last named regiments were Irish, 
and soldiers of the first water. It used to be a 
treat to us boys to happen around about the 
time of their roll-call and hear the names, 
O'Parion, O'Flarity, O'Flemsey and O'Connels 
called. But when it came to standing i]i their 
place in battle, playing cards when in camps 
and stealing when on the march, they w^ere 
Jeems as well as Joe Dandies. The Brigade 
was now made up of the following regiments : 
6th, 10th and 15th regiments consolidated, 
commanded by Col. R. Q. Mills; 7th Texas 
infantry, commanded by Col. H. G. Granbury; 
17th, 18th, 24th and 25th consolidated Texas 
regiment, commanded by Lieut. -Col. John T. 



172 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

Coit, of Dallas, Texas ; 3rd and 5th Confeder- 
ates, commanded by Col. Cole, of Memphis, 
and all commanded by Brig. -Gen. J. A. Smith, 
of Alabama, with Capt. J, T. Hearn, A. A. G., 
George Jewell, brigade ordnance officer, and 
D. F. Stewart, brigade surgeon. And if 
Bragg had had fifty thousand like us and the 
ability to command, he could have marched to 
Cincinnati and remained there. 

From where we were on the line we could 
see the Lookout plainly. Just on the high 
point next to the river, we had a battery, and 
opposite it, and across the river on Mocason 
Point, the Federals had a fort. They fought 
an artillery duel nearly every day while we were 
here. The boys with mathematical turn of 
mind would figure on the distance from where 
we were to the top of the mountain by the time 
it required the sound to reach us after we could 
see the flash of the big guns. Don't remember 
the distance now, but it was several miles away, 
and in our mind's eye ^^ Horatio " we can see 
the mountain to-day as it reared its head away 
up in the clouds, grand, gloomy, silent, looking 
down in its awe-inspiring majesty upon us poor 
puffed up mortals. 'Tis sunset at Chattanooga 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 173 

now, and as we stand uncovered, and drink in 
the magnificence of the surroundings, our very 
soul sinks within us, when the thought rolls up 
in our mind, that the years and centuries will 
go by, and all these who are actors in this great 
drama will have gone back to dust, and Look- 
out mountain will yet remain to greet the eyes 
of millions coming after us. "N^ow the stars are 
out, and the line of red lights from the high 
point of Lookout mountain. Along our line away 
to the extreme right is the Signal corps report- 
ing every movement of the enemy ; in daylight 
this was done by red and white flags. The 
scene is grand and is many leagues beyond our 
powers of description. The October evening is 
warm, we spread our blankets, lay down with our 
face turned toward the shining stars and won- 
der how, when and where all this foolishness will 
come to an end, and as the last notes from the 
brass throat of the brigade bugler's horn sound- 
ing tattoo dies away in the silence of the night we 
commit our soul in prayer to the care of the God 
of battles, and our weary body to the arms of 
nature's sweet restorer. 



174 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTER XXI. 

BATTLE OF MISSIONARY RIDGE, TENNESSEE. 

In a few days after the battle of Chicka- 
mauga, Gen. Longstreet was sent with his 
corps and some other troops to drive Gen. 
Bnrnside outside of Knoxville ! Gen. Wheeler 
with a large cavalry force was sent out on 
a raid into middle Tennessee, while Gen. 
Bragg seemed to be content to wait there at 
Chattanooga long enough for the enemy to get 
supplies and concentrate a force sufficient to 
come out, attack and clean up his army. 

On the evening of November 23d, our 
division was put in motion moving in the direc- 
tion of Cleveland. We marched about eight 
miles, went into camp and it is said were w^aiting 
for transportation by railroad to Knoxville. At 
this time Gen. Grant was in command of 
the Federal army, and as soon as Bragg moved 
out our division (Cleburne's) he commenced 
at once to press our line. Gen. Grant had a big 
army in Chattanooga, while Gen. Joe Hooker 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 175 

had a force at Bridgeport, some twenty-live 
miles or less below Chattanooga. All night 
of the 23d Gen. Bragg had details of men 
to keep np fires on that part of the line we 
had left, beating drums as if he had a big force 
on that part of the line ; but Gen. Grant was 
too old a bird to be caught with that kind of 
chaff, and just kept on pressing. While it was 
yet dark, on the morning of the 2tl:th, our 
division was moved back and took position just 
in rear of our old line, and east of the ridge. 
The writer with permission went to the top of 
the ridge, and from where we were, we could 
see over the whole valley, and it was alive and 
working with long lines of blue infantry, brist- 
ling with bayonets ; it was a fine view of the 
pomp and splendor of glorious war, and we felt 
it in our very bones, that the ground was going 
to be torn up and lots of people hurt in the 
neighborhood before many days. All at once, 
about 4: 30 in the afternoon, we were put in line 
and started off at a double quick, to the right. 
We knew from the way couriers were dashing 
around, the serious expression on the face of 
those in high place, the haste with which we were 
being moved, and the old decks of playing cards 



176 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

the boys ahead of us were throwing away, that 
somebody Avas getting hurt, or we were on a 
race with the Federals for some important point. 
Referring to the playing cards, it is strange that 
men will carry something in their pockets 
they are ashamed to be found dead with. We 
had seen this throwing of cards away before. 
But enough of this. On we go ;-we crossed the 
mountain right over the Chattanooga and 
Cleveland Railroad tunnel, and formed in line in 
a valley between the mountain proper and a 
high point of mountain that seemed to jut down 
between Missionary Ridge and the river. We 
moved forward up the mountain, but the Fed- 
erals were already there ; they had beaten us to 
the position. We fell back and took position on 
the main range, and formed a line with the left 
of our brigade resting over the tunnel already 
referred to, and extending along the mountain 
to the right, with Douglas' Texas Battery of 
twelve JN^apoleon guns in the center, and about 
700 yards air line from the Federal battery on 
the point of the mountain already named. 

It was now dark, the night is cold and crisp, 
and being so close to the enemy, we could have 
no fires and we had to just grin and bear it. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 177 

As soon as the first streak of daylight began 
to paint the east, the crack of the skirmishers' 
rifles in our front rang out, and they sounded 
as loud as cannon. Capt. Rhodes Fisher was 
again m command of the skirmishers, and he 
and Companies G of the 6th, 10th and 15th 
Texas regiments done their whole duty ; during 
the night we threw up temporary works, such 
as we could make of old logs, loose rocks, etc., 
from where we were. Chattanooga was on an 
exact line between us and the point of Look- 
out mountain where Gen. Bragg' s extreme left 
rested. 

The morning of the 25th of November, 
1863, was bright and frosty, yet there was 
a dense fog hovering about the top of Look- 
out mountain, but we could hear the roar 
of musketry and booming of cannon, and we 
knew that the Alabamians w^ere having a tug at 
war with Hooker. They were fighting above 
the clouds. We could see the city and the val- 
ley. Long Hues of mfantry were moving up in 
our front, i^ow they are in range of our bat- 
teries, shot and shell were sent into their lines, 
they waver, but on they come. Cheatham's 
Tennessee division on a high mountain to our 

12 



178 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

left sally out and drive the enemy in their front. 
But they rally and on they come in splendid 
order. Just now Maj.-Gen. Cleburne comes up 
on foot in rear of our line ; he ordered the writer 
to take one company of the 3d and 5th Confed- 
erate and deploy them as skirmishers some 
forty yards down the mountain and in front of 
our line, and to remain until driven in by the 
enemy. We tipped our cap, formed the com- 
pany and obeyed the command. We were im- 
mediately under our own guns, and when the 
artillery duel opened between the Douglas bat- 
tery and the Federal battery on the high point 
just in our front, ours and our company of Irish- 
men's position was a noisy one, and very dan- 
gerous. The writer after getting the company 
deployed crouched down behind a very friendly 
chestnut tree. A big burly Irishman a fcAV 
paces to our right said he was too busy to take 
a tree, when we reproached him for not protect- 
ing himself as much as possible. He was a fine 
soldier, the balls were flying fast, but he would 
stand out in a clear place, take deliberate aim 
and then watch to see the effect of his shot. 
Like all others of his race he was a wit. We 
had been there for some time ; he finally with a 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 179 

twinkle about his eyes said, "Are you cold, 
Lieutenant? ' ' We assured him that we were not. 
" "Well," he said, '' I didn't know, but thought 
ye were either cold or domed badly scared, from 
the way you're trembling and shaking." He 
was a splendid specimen of manhood. Just 
before sundoAvn a shot broke his neck and he fell 
dead not ten feet from where the conversation 
occurred in the morning. Pat Kane went up 
from Missonary Ridge. He said during our con- 
versation in the morning that if Jeff Davis would 
feed him and let him play cards all he wanted 
to, and furnish him a fight now and then, that 
he wouldn't care if the war lasted forty years. 
But we must pass along. On they came and ran 
us in. We thought our Irishman never would 
run, and we were ashamed to give the command 
to fall back on the main line. About 10 o'clock 
we • were run in and then our whole line sallied 
out and drove the enemy back. Bragg'sline, it 
will be remembered, was a semi- circle ; Grant's 
army was inside the circle, therefore he could 
mass troops on any point of the line in less time 
than Bragg could, because Bragg' s troops had 
to go around outside of the circle, giving Grant 
much the advantage in maneuvei-ing his army 



180 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

and which he turned to good account. About 
2 a. m. the fighting seem to be general all 
along the line. Some two hundred yards in our 
front, and near the Chattanooga end of the tun- 
nel, there stood a dwelling, barn and some other 
outhouses, and right in the heat of the battle 
three or four women came out and passed 
through our line. They did not seem to be 
alarmed nearly as much as we have seen a Texas 
woman get at a mouse. About 4 p. m. Grant 
seemed to be concentrating his whole army on 
Cleburne's front. On they came line after line ; 
we remember one brigade that had a green flag ; 
they got up to within forty yards of our line. 
Things were getting pretty blue all around there. 
Gen. Cleburne came up on foot just in rear of 
our brigade and said in a very quiet sort of way : 
" Boys, take them in. " That was enough. We 
sailed into them, captured many prisoners,- six 
stands of colors, and lots of guidons. The 
writer had unbuckled his sword, and as we 
went over the works left it, grabbed a rock 
and went in. A good many of the Yankees 
played dead that had not been touched. The 
writer captured a whole company that had taken 
shelter behind a big chestnut log* they were 
more than willing to surrender. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 181 

Our regiment fought the 26th Missouri ; we 
learned this from the wounded left on the field. 
We thought we had gamed the day when the truth 
of the matter was we had broke their line just the 
length of our brigade. Some of us were very 
much annoyed at a general charge not being 
ordered, as the enemy in our front were runnmg 
like wild cattle. Merritt Mathews, of Denton 
County, Chris Gose, of Wise County, and the 
writer and several others lit out after them on 
our own hook, and must have gone three 
hundred yards inside of their lines, when all at 
once we discovered a full line of Federal in- 
fantry, not more than forty yards to our right. 
They turned loose on us, but we all made it out. 
Gose was shot in the back, but the ball struck 
where his two blankets, rohed up and worn 
like a shot pouch, crossed. The blankets saved 
his life. A brass button turned a ball that 
struck Maj . Sanders square in the breast ; it 
broke his right arm. In this charge Capt. Bill 
Shannon, of Parker County, with about twenty 
of his company captured two hundred Federals 
in the houses already referred to. Jim Shaw, 
of Waco, was in the charge and if we quote 
correct, he and a Federal soldier fought a duel. 



182 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

Shaw was too quick for him, and got in his 
work. After this everything was very quiet, 
and we thought we had gained a great victory, 
and it was very natural, for we had cleaned up 
everything that came against us that day in the 
charge. Gen. Smith and Col. Mills, command- 
ing the 6th, 10th and 15th Texas consolidated 
regiments, were wounded, and the command of 
the brigade fell on Col. Hiram B. Granbury, of 
the 7tli Texas infantry. 

Some time after nightfall. Col. Granbury 
ordered Capt. J. L. Leonard to take four 
companies and deploy them as skirmishers in 
front of our brigade, with orders to remain out 
until driven in. He had the writer detailed to 
act as adjutant, and the above orders was the 
first hint we had of things not being all right. 
The line of skirmishers was deployed about one 
hundred and fifty yards in advance of the line 
we had held all day. 

About us and in rear of our line the dead and 
wounded were thick on the ground. We 
learned from the wounded that we had been 
fighting Missouri troops, especially the 26th 
Missouri infantry. Lieut. Burris, of Company 
B, 15th Texas infantry, now of McKinney, 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 183 

Texas, was personally acquainted with several 
of them. We rendered such assistance as we 
could to the wounded. 

By 8 o'clock quiet prevailed in the valley of 
Chattanooga, the pale moon looked down into 
the faces of many Confederates and Federals 
whose life blood had baptized the hills and 
valleys in a cause which each thought was in 
the right ; but enough of this. 




184 UNWRITTEN HlSTOIfT OF THE 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

RETREAT EROM MISSIONARY RIDGE — WADE 
CHICKAMAUGA WHILE DIAMONDS OF EROST 
ARE FALLING — BATTLE OF RINGGOLD GAP. 

At the close of the preceding chapter we 
bade the reader good-night while we were yet 
on picket duty after the great battle of Mis- 
sionary Ridge, and during the few hours we 
were waiting and watching, we witnessed more 
of the horrors of cruel war. Near where we 
were standing on the line of skirmishers, a 
wounded Federal was sitting on the ground with 
his back against a tree, he had been shot 
through the bowels. He seemed to be a very in- 
telhgent young man and spoke of the certainty 
of having to die very soon in a very quiet, 
dignified manner. He belonged to the 26th 
Missouri infantry. Another young man of 
powerful build, and we suppose from the same 
regiment, had been seriously wounded in the 
head ; he was some distance higher up the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 185 

mountain than the one already named. He 
.would rise to his feet and then fall face foremost 
down the mountain, uttering cries and groans 
that pierced the hearts of old soldiers. We 
thought at first that it was a ruse he was play- 
ing to get through our line, but upon examina- 
tion we found he was seriously wounded and 
was as crazy as a '' march hare." But those sur- 
roundings were tame to our feelings compared 
to the effect of the huzza, huzza, huzza, that 
commenced in the Federal lines to our left, and 
died away, away down yonder toward the base of 
Lookout mountain. " What does all this mean " 
was the question asked in low tones one of 
another. I cannot tell, there is some mistake, 
I thought we had gained a great victory. Any- 
way we have the satisfaction and the glory of 
mopping up the ground with everything that has 
come against we Texas and Arkansaw fellows 
to-day, we will wait and see what we will see. 
About 11 o'clock the order was passed down 
the line in a whisper, from post to post, for us 
to move out by the left flank, and to be careful 
as to making any sort of noise, not to allow 
saber or gun to strike with canteens, and not to 
tread on any sticks that might break and make 



186 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

a Hoise. We were old soldiers enough by this 
time to know what all this meant. We knew 
that the day had been lost, ajid in less time 
than it requires to pen one of these lines, such 
thoughts as these passed through our minds in 
rapid succession : if we can't hold such a line 
as this against those blasted Federals, where is 
the line or position between here and the coast 
of Georgia that we can hold? But enough of 
this. We moved out as quietly as if there had 
been but one man only. Up, over the moun- 
tain and down through a deep gorge, wrapped 
in deep darkness inside and outside. 'Not a 
word being uttered. The writer, along with 
Capt. Jack Leonard was marching at the head 
of the column, and if our memory is not out of 
joint, the first words spoken was the following 
little speech made by the writer to Capt. Leon- 
ard. " This, Captain, is the death-knell of the 
Confederacy, for if we cannot cope with those 
fellows over the way with the advantages we 
have on this line, there is not a line between 
here and the Atlantic ocean where we can stop 
them." He replied by saying, ' ' Hush, Lieuten- 
ant, that is treason you are talking.'' Doubtless 
such expressions in the presence of the men 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 187 

might have heen wrong, but we thought it all 
right as between officers. Captain Leonard was 
a patriot and a good soldier; he has passed 
over the river, a;nd into that good country 
where there is no change in government rulers, 
and where wars, earthquakes, famines and pes- 
tilence never come. Peace to his ashes. We 
loved him like a brother. 

On we go ; pretty soon we come to where our 
division is camped in a sort of straggling, irreg- 
ular manner in a great woodland. We laid down 
and rested an hour or two. The night was quite 
pleasant ; some time before daylight we were up 
and put on the move, and about sunrise we ar- 
rived at Chickamauga station. This was on the 
Atlantic & Great Western Railway, and had 
been General Bragg's main depot of supphes. 
Here we began to see and reahze the situation 
and learn something of how the battle had 
gone. There were thousands of bushels of 
shelled corn, corn meal and some bacon scatter- 
ed around the station. We were halted, built 
fires and were broiling our bacon for breakfast. 
Off to our right, when facing Chattanooga, was 
a fort. We noticed some stragglers craning 
their necks over the parapets of the fort and 



188 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

looking in the direction the enemy wonld come, 
and we looked down that way too, and not more 
than three hundred yards from us a line of Fed- 
eral cavalry formed across the railroad; their 
horses looked to be about sixteen feet high and 
each rider looked a regular Goliath, while the 
moral of Cleburne's division of Arkansaw, Texas 
and Mississippi troops was not the best in the 
world, yet it was the best in the army of Ten- 
nessee. Fact of the business is, every other 
division in the army was on a dead run for any 
place to get out of the reach of the Yankees. 
But to return. We did not stand on the order 
of our going but moved out at once. All day 
of the 26th and until late at night v/e were kept 
well in hand and on the move. About 11 o'clock 
at night we stopped on the banks of Chicka- 
mauga, near Ringold, Georgia, and oh, how 
tired and sleepy we were. We laid down and 
were asleep immediately. About 4 o'clock on the 
morning of the 27th, we were awakened and 
ordered into line. By this time it was cold and 
frosty; the moon was bright and clear, and 
seemed to cast an extra sheen of bright light over 
everything. We could even see the diamonds 
of frost as they fell through the cold, crispy air. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 389 

There were no boats nor bridges on which we 
could cross the Chickamaiiga creek, a creek it 
seemed we would never get away from, and we 
had to wade it. It was about thirty yards wide, 
and just deep enough to cut the average Con- 
federate off in the neighborhood of his watch 
pocket. Some of the boys shed all their linen 
but their shirts, and sailed into it, while others 
went in like horses, with all their rigging on ; 
the former fared better, even if we did have 
to climb the wet frozen banks with bare feet. 
But we felt quite snug after getting our clothes 
on and moving off, and having put that cold and 
turbulent stream between us and the enemy. 

On we go down through the little town of 
Ringold. Ringold is located in a valley, locked 
in by mountains on the south, east and northeast. 
The dirt road and railroad approached the town 
from the east through a narrow gorge, cut 
through the mountain by " our Chickamauga 
creek." Gen. Bragg had sent orders to Gen. 
Cleburne to hold this gap until 12 o'clock if 
possible, and that if he could do so, he could 
save the army of Tennessee. Our line was 
formed two hundred yards up the side of the 
mountain and in the shape of the Roman letter 



190 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

'' V." Douglas' Texas battery was massed in 
the cut near the apex of the "V." Just about 
sunup came the Federals m high glee, down 
through town, banners flymg, drums beatmg, 
with heads up and tails over the dash-board sort 
of way, as if they had nothing to do now but 
march right along through the country and 
pick up straggling rebels. '^ On they come in 
four lines, marching by the flank, right up to 
within seventy-five or a hundred yards of our 
hidden battery, when all at once, the pine tops 
with which our battery is covei-ed are thrown 
off, and six twelve-pound l^apoleon guns pour 
shot and shell into their ranks. They were 
utterly astonished and broke in great confusion, 
seeking shelter anywhere, behind dwellings, 
barns, outhouses, railroad embankment or any- 
thing else. But they were between the two wings 
of Cleburne's lines and we gave it to them good. 
We held the line until 1 o'clock and then 
retreated wading our Chickamauga creek again 
for the last time. The Federal loss was fearful, 
ours was light. The Confederate Congress voted 
the Texas brigade a resolution of thanks for its 
splendid conduct on this occasion, and besides, 
it made Col. H. B. Granbury, of the 7th Texas 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 191 

Infantry, a Brigadier-General in the C. S. A. 
We fell back abont a couple of miles and formed 
another line. The Federals came to where they 
could see us, but they did not want any more. 
We had put a taste in their mouths that ended 
the campaign. Late in the evening we moved 
on, marching quite all night. It may sound 
strange, but is true, that many of our men had 
lost so much sleep and were so nearly worn out, 
that they would go to sleep walking along and 
fall as suddenly as if they had been shot dead. 
Some time in the early morning of JN^ovember 27, 
we arrived at Tunnel Hill, and took a position 
on a high range of hills south of town. The 
Yankees were satisfied to let us alone, and Gen. 
Bragg seemed satisfied with being let alone. 
Here we went into winter quarters. 




192 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTEE XXIII. 

THE WIN^TER OF '63 AND '64 AT TUNNEL HILL, 
GEOKGIA — VISIT TO MISS MARY A. H. GAY, 
DECATUR, GEORGIA — GEO. DEAN AND THE 
QUARTER OF BEEF — MISS LOU ANNIE RODGERS. 

There is quite a difference in the appearance 
of the winter quarters of an army of volunteers, 
where every man or mess is left to be the sole 
judge of size, kind and quality of the houses 
they will build, and those of the regular army, 
where the whole matter is under the manage- 
ment of a quartermaster, skilled workmen and a 
civil engineer. In our winter quarters there 
was as great a variety of architecture as there 
is to be found in any city or town in the coun- 
try. The thrifty, industrious soldier puts up a 
nice house, his style of architecture is good, 
everything about his premises looks tidy, and 
everything is kept in its place. While the lazy, 
shiftless soldier throws up most any sort of 
pen out of odds and ends that he can pick up 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 193 

here and there, and his lai'der and outfit for house- 
keeping is ahout on the same hue, and if his 
quarters are not inspected every day or two by 
the officer of the day, he will allow it to get as 
filthy as a pig pen. In the army, as in civil life, 
our observations lead us to remark that, " the 
fittest survive." In other words, the soldier wdio 
takes good care of himself, and is watchful and 
industrious, generally gets enough to eat and is 
seldom sick, and possesses the powers of endur- 
ance. It requires an industrious, temperate man 
to make a successful soldier. But enough of 
this philosophy. 

In a week or so, we were all tucked away in 
some sort of style, then commenced the routine 
of camp duty. While we were not in the imme- 
diate presence of the enemy, yet the danger 
of surprise was as great, and our line of 
pickets was as strong as at Chattanooga, 
and was placed some mile and a half in front of 
our main line across the creek. Don't know 
whether it was Chickamauga or not, anyway it 
was a very clever stream and w^e had to cross it 
on foot-logs or wade it. The month of Decem- 
ber, 1863, and that of January, 1861, were hard 
and frosty ; while on picket w^e were required to 

13 



194 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

keep on all our clothing and accoutrements, 
and while we were permitted to have some fires 
near the line, yet our suffering from cold was 
great. 

Did you ever lay down on that line with all 
your rigging on, with your feet to the fire, with 
the cape of a great overcoat you had captured 
from the Yankees pulled up over your head, 
and about the time you would sail off into a 
good snooze, about twenty-nine big body lice 
commence prizing up Hades down about your 
hips or between your shoulder blades, or away 
somewhere where you could not scratch without 
getting up and saying a good many unladylike 
words? We have experienced it. But every 
cloud has a silver lining, and we never have 
struck that condition in life where we couldn't 
see some sunshine ; and we did here, even on 
this picket line. Just a little way out in front 
of our line, on what we called the neutral lands 
there lived a tanner by the name of Rodgers, 
and he had two daughters, Miss Kate and Miss 
Lou Annie, and they were bouncing, booming 
north Georgia mountain girls, honest, kind- 
hearted and as pure as snow-flake. The writer 
and Capt, Jack Leonard were not long in locat- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 195 

iiig- them. Capt. Leonard filed on Miss Kate 
and the winter laid claim to Miss Lou Annie, 
and in our " mind's eye," we can see her yet, 
tall, willowy, peach bloom in her cheeks, 
melting blue eyes, flaxen hair, cherry lips and 
teeth of pearl, and many the time have we 
crawled on our hands and knees on the snow 
and ice, to get through our picket lines to spend 
a long winter evening at her clever home ; and 
our heart was exceedingly full of great sorrow, 
and we were sick nigh unto death when the com- 
manding general said we must leave those re- 
gions and go '^furder" back in Georgia. While 
here we lived pretty well, as all the territory 
between ours and the Federal lines was common 
foraging grounds. We remember a party of 
five going out on the hunt for meat. We will 
not say that we were with them, but the party 
consisted of George Dean, Bill Priddy, Walter 
Brandon and N^ewt Millhallon, all of Company 
^' B " 15th Texas. The outfit succeed in captur- 
ing and killing a five year old steer. About the 
time it Avas dressed a party of Arkansaw boys 
came along and we divided with them. The 
layout then started for camps, our party 
taking it time about carrying a hind quarter 



196 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

by wearing it like a hunter does a bird bag or 
shot pouch. It was night-time, and when we 
struck the creek it was George Dean's time to 
carry it; he put it on, and started to Avalk the 
foot log, he fell in the creek and we thought for 
some minutes that Ave would not only lose the 
quarters of fat beef but that Dean would drown ; 
but he held on to it, and made it to the banks. 
During the month of December desertions were 
frequent, but this was pretty well stopped when 
Gen. J. E. Johnston w^as put in command, 
about January 1st, 1864. His presence, im- 
provement in rations, clothing, and the change 
in the routine of duty seemed to at once inspire 
the Avhole army with new and strong confidence. 
The boys under Johnston seemed to think every 
thing was all right, they went right along smok- 
ing their home-made pipes and playing poker and 
seemed as jolly as if out on a lark. Some time 
during the month of December, Capt. Jack 
Leonard received a letter from Miss Mary A. H. 
Gay, of Decatur, Ga., proposing that if he and 
the writer would visit her, she would present 
each with a jDair of new Wellington boots. We 
had already been introduced to this excellent 
lady, and had been corresponding with her, be- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 197 

cause of letters of recommendation sent her by 
her half brother, Lieut. Stokes of the 10th Texas 
infantry. Of course we secured furloughs and 
went to see her during Christmas week. Miss 
Mary gave the writer her special attention, 
while her half sister, Miss Missouri Stokes, di- 
rected her attentions to Capt. Jack Leonard. 
Capt. Leonard was a master of the violin, and 
Miss Missouri had the scope of one of Chicker- 
ings best down very fine, and to say we two rev- 
eled in music and the company of these highly 
educated and excellent ladies, and filled up on 
ham and eggs, fried chicken, Lincoln coffee, 
cow butter and hot biscuits and slept on fat 
feather beds with our Napoleon heads resting on 
downy pillows, would be putting it tersely, truth- 
fully and tamely. We want to carry the recollec- 
tion of this Christmas week with us when we go 
over the River. We were wild young men then 
many miles from home, and doubtless our asso- 
ciation with these accomplished women trimmed 
off many rough corners, and made impressions 
that have been factors in moulding some good 
trait in our characters. Doubtless many of our 
readers can call to mind Miss Mary A. H. Gay ; 
she was an intimate friend of Miss L. Virginia 



198 UNWRITTEN HISTORf OF THE 

French, and a writer of prose and poetry, of 
acknowledged ability ; but this was too rich for 
soldier's blood and too good to last. After one 
^Yeek we returned to our command at Tunnel 
Hill and to our rations of blue Florida beef, corn 
bread and molasses. 

Some time during the month of February, our 
division was shipped by railroad via Atlanta, 
West Point to Montgomery, Alabama. We 
were rushed off down there to head off that 
big raid the Federals made from Memphis, 
into Mississippi, wdien the city of Meridian 
was burned. We got as far as Montgomery 
only, and were shipped back next day. It 
seems that Gen. Sherman at Chattanooga, 
was not long in finding that Gen. Johnston 
had weakened his forces by sending our division 
off, and commenced an advance on our lines at 
once, hence our return. On this trip we boys 
had whole gobs of fun. We would write notes 
as the cars run, tie them to sticks, rocks or 
anything else so that we could throw them to 
every girl we saw, and the result was each 
of us secured a sweetheart correspondent in 
Georgia or Alabama, and some kept up the cor- 
respondence long after " Grim-visaged war had 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 199 

smoothed his wrinkled fi'ont." The writer had 
two on his string, Miss Rebecca Savage, of 
Savage Station, Ga., and Miss Molhe E. Har- 
ris, of Auburn, Alabama. We never met either 
of them, but from the description they gave of 
themselves they were pretty and no doubt right 
sweet, and the style and subject-matter of their 
letters assured us that we had our hands full 
if we coped with them successfully in writing 
readable letters. 

Gen. Sherman's forces returned to their lines 
around Chattanooga, and we went into camps 
about two miles north of Dalton, and remained 
there until the 2d of May, when the campaign 
opened that resulted in Sherman's march to 
the sea. 




200 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

GKANBUKY'S and LOWERY'S BRiaADE FIGHT A 
BATTLE WITH SNOWBALLS — A FURLOUGH — 
GOOD TIIVIE IN GEORGIA — THE GEORGIA C AJM- 
PAIGN OPENS. 

About the first of March there fell a big 
SHOW. The following' happening so impressed 
it on the writer's mind that he will doubtless 
always remember it. 

Gen. Lowery's Mississippi brigade was 
camped just a little ways over north of us. 
Granbury's brigade of Texans attacked them 
for a battle with snowballs. We charged right 
up to their dog tents. We were in a very 
aggressive squad. A big, red-headed freckled- 
face Mississippian captured and carried us 
quite a distance on his shoulders inside of their 
lines, and when he turned us loose we made a 
break for our own line, and one of our men hit 
us in the left eye with a big half ice and half 
snow ball, and laid one Confederate out. We 
were carried into Col. Abercombie's tent and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 201 

were so blind when the battle was over that we 
had to be led back to our quarters. We cannot 
see well out of that eye to this day. Another 
circumstance during the morning was the shoot- 
ing of a deserter. We were marched out w^hile 
the snow was falling thick and fast, and formed 
into three sides of a square. The condemned 
man was sitting on his coffin facing a platoon 
of soldiers under command of a lieutenant. 
They were about twenty paces from him, and at 
the command " Ready, take aim, fire !" he fell 
forward dead. The contrast between the dark, 
gloomy, condemned man, the black coffin he 
was sitting on, and the white, whirling, whisper- 
ing snow-flakes as they came from above, was 
indeed striking. The whole thing viewed from 
one stand-point suggested to the mind of a man 
of a charitable cast of mind, that our boasted 
civilization is but a little ways ahead of the 
heathen, but when viewed from the stand-point 
of sound policy and moral obligations, the 
man that will desert his country, his army, and 
betray his kith and kin and go to the enemy, 
deserves death. 

About the 1st of April the writer succeeded 
in getting a thirty days' furlough, and no 



202 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

young" man ever felt prouder of license author- 
izing some authority to make him and the 
woman of his choice partners in all things for 
hfe, than we did this leave of absence. Along 
with it was an order for transportation in kind, 
and we were soon on board the cars bound for 
Georgia. We made our way to the little city of 
Decatur, and from a Doctor Maddox and Miss 
Mary A. H. Gay, we secured letters of marque 
and reprisal to sail into the neighborhood of their 
friends and connection near Madisonville, Ga., a 
fine rich old country, over in the northeastern 
part of the State, where few soldiers had been, 
and to say that we had a royal good time at, the 
princely homes of those old cotton planters is 
the best English we can command at this mo- 
ment. We stopped first with a Mr. Stovall, and 
from his house as headquarters or base of opera- 
tions, we made frequent raids into the surrounding 
country, from one to twenty-five miles, attend- 
ing picnics, fishing parties and balls. We were 
dressed in a common suit of Georgia jeans, with 
one side of our hat pinned up with a five point 
silver star, and as a young man with two good 
strong arms and a pair of good legs was a rare 
thing to be seen in that part of the Empire State. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 203 

The young ladies, bless their sweet souls, vied 
with each other m paying us nice attentions, 
and we were just vain enough to be led off by 
our vanity into the belief that our good looks 
and soldierly appearance was the card that was 
winning all. We look back now and see that 
they poked lots of good-natured fun at us, and 
all w^as not gold that glittered. A special invi- 
tation w^as sent us to attend a fish fry picnic and 
boat ride, some tw^enty miles away in a settle- 
ment known as the Hamilton Bugg neighboi^- 
hood. Mr. Stovall furnished us transportation 
and w^e took it in. Here we met an army of 
pretty girls, refugeesfrom EastTennessee, South 
Carolina, Virginia and IS'orth Carolina. Here 
our good legs, strong arms and Texas star 
made us the lion of the occasion as we thought. 
The picnic was on the banks of a beautiful, 
clear river at a big spinning factory, a few miles 
from a little tow^n on the railroad called Maxey 
Station. After eating, fishing, talking, court- 
ing, flirting to our heart's content, a motion 
prevailed that we adjourn to the Masonic Hall 
near by and spend the remainder of the day in 
tripping " the light fantastic toe." The hall 
was soon put in order and we went in. We 



204 UNWRITTEN HISTOftY OF THE 

have traveled in many States since that time, 
and have seen crowds of pretty women in 'New 
York, St. Louis, ISTew Orleans and onr own great 
Texas, but the impression that these girls, as 
they were sitting in rows on the four sides of 
that great hall, were the prettiest lot of women 
that we have ever seen, has not been altogether 
removed, and as the wi'iter w\as the only young 
man there who had a pair of good legs, they 
almost danced us to death. Those pretty 
girls would engage us for a dozen sets ahead. 
To put it plainly, we were in sweetness up to 
our eyes, and they danced us until an old gen- 
tleman, a looker-on, whispered in our ear that 
they were putting up a job on us and intended 
to dance us until our tongue hung out like a 
choked 'possum. We took the hint and hid 
out. We remember him kindly, for if he had 
not given us the word, there is no telling what 
might have happened. 

While in this neighborhood our headquarters 
were at Mr. Hamilton Bugg's. We carry with 
us recollections of the kind, motherly treat- 
ment of his good wife and the nice time we 
had with his daughter Mattie. I see her yet, 
a pretty, blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked, kind-hearted 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 205 

girl, but doubtless, a quarter of a century 
having swept by, has put crow's feet about her 
eyes and ''silver threads amongst the gold." 
Yes, we remember so well Miss Hattie and 
Julia Cochran, the former, with her black curls, 
sparkling black eyes, and the latter a beautiful 
blonde. But thirty days' running in such clover 
go by like a dream in the night, a tale already 
told, and back to our command we must go. 

"When we got to the army, May 7th, 1864, 
the great Georgia campaign had already com- 
menced. AVe found our brigade in hue of 
battle, about one mile north of Resacca, Georgia. 
We reported to Col. Garland, commanding our 
regiment at the time. Our Company, " B," 
was out on the skirmish Hne, and he suggested 
that we remain at his headquarters until it 
came in. Being anxious to see the boys, we 
obtained permission to go out to where they 
were. Armed with a bright new cavalry saber, 
we started out. Our line of battle was on a 
range of hills running quite north and south ; 
at the base of the hill a field set in, taking in 
the valley. The Federal line was in the thick 
woodland about 400 yards across the field. We 
made our way down to the left of the company 



206 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



and found Newt Millhollon and one of the 
other boys and told them all about the fun 
we had seen, and then started across to the 
right to where our old schoolmate, Lieut. 
Sam Beck, Avas. Millhollon insisted that it 
was a dangerous undertaking, for the reason 
the Federals had a battery just across the 
field and would shoot. We went along 
though anyhow, hacking the pine brush with 
our big sw^ord very leisurely, and when about 
the center of our line, the Federals turned loose 
a big cannon, the ball passing about two yards in 
front of us and tearing a hole in the side of the 
hill large enough to bury an ox. We were not 
to say alarmed but felt exceedingly lonesome. 
We could not afford to run because we had 
acted foolhardily, and were foolhardy enough to 
carry it out. We walked on and to all appear- 
ances just as leisurely as before, and about the 
time we got on the line of the shot, they sent 
another one just in behind us. We could feel 
the wind from it. We passed along at a great 
effort and soon found our friend Beck. We 
were so shocked when we got to where he was 
that we sank down feeling thankful that we 
were alive, but were exhausted; Lieut. Beck 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 207 

remarked that he was a good doctor on such an 
occasion and reached us an extra canteen that 
he had swung around his neck, and to our ex- 
ceeding great joy it was full of good whisky. 
The boys had raided somel)ody's headquarters 
the night our army left Dalton, and found a 
barrel of whisky, and all hands filled their can- 
teens. We have never struck the article before 
nor since when it came in better time and tasted 
half so good. It was not long before we felt 
like we could whip ten to one. 

On the morning of the 8th while it was yet 
dark, our division moved down and took up a 
position just in front of a fort and near the 
railroad bridge across Etawa river. The morn- 
ing was very foggy, and while we were march- 
ing by the flank to our position, the Federals 
fired on us. We could hear the balls strike our 
men ; it was here PinkRoberson of Wise County, 
lost a leg, and J. P. Fullingim, of the same 
county his sight eye. 

On the morning of the 9th while it was yet 
dark, our division crossed the river on a muffled 
pontoon bridge, and we knew by this that the 
artillery and the army were ahead of us. Our 
next line was formed about 10 o'clock, near a 



208 



UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



little town called Calhoun. Late in the after- 
noon onr line was put in motion, and the next 
line we formed was near a clever little city called 
Kingston. Here we remained in line of battle 



all night. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 209 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

THE TERRIFIC BATTLE OF NEWHOPE CHURCH, 
GEORGIA, MAY 27, 1864. 

On the 12th we passed through Kingston, 
Ga., and camped in a rough hilly country, 
between the above named town and Cartersville. 
On the morning of the 13th we were called in 
line and Gen. Johnston's much discussed battle 
order was read. From the tone of the order it 
seemed that we had reached the point where the 
General commanding proposed to give battle. 
The boys seemed more delighted at the prospect 
of our rounding up and giving the Yankees a 
fight, than alarmed at the prospect of their 
lives being put in peril. All extra baggage was 
disposed of, the boys tightened their belts, and 
at the command loaded their guns carefully. 
We moved forward in line of battle quite a mile, 
halted and remained there until about 3 o'clock 
in the afternoon, when we were moved off in 
the direction of Atlanta. We formed another 
line near Cartersville, and remained there 

14 



210 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

until quite daylight on the morning of the 
14th, and while the cocks (and there seemed to 
be a thousand of them in the little city) were 
crowing their throats raw in their efforts to 
apprise those of the city who were in nice, 
clean beds, of the fact that the God of Day was 
sending up signals in the east, warning all of 
his approach, we passed through the city as 
cheerful and as jolly a body of soldiers as ever 
walked God's foot- stool under similar circum- 
stances. About noon we crossed the river and 
went into camps on the banks of the laughing, 
clear and sparkling waters of Pumpkin Vine 
creek. Here we remained until the 22nd, put- 
ting in the time very nicely in bathing in the 
limpid waters of Pumpkin Vine. 

On the 22nd the whole army seemed to be on 
the move off, on a hue at right angles to the 
Atlantic & AYestern Railroad, and in the direc- 
tion of Powder Springs and Dallas. We march- 
ed two days in this direction and on the 25th we 
were marched back over the same road and were 
put in line of battle east of !N^ewhope Church. 
While here the writer had occasion to visit 
Ector's Texas brigade. It Avas in line of battle, 
its skirmishers were having a pretty warm fight 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 211 

with those of the enemy. We went out onto 
the Ime and found our old-time friend, Capt. 
Sam Lusk. Something had gone wrong and he 
was swearing hke a Norwegian sailor. 

On the morning of the 27th, Granhury's 
brigade was in position on the extreme right of 
the army ; our line was on a ridge ; in our front 
was quite a farm, the farmhouse was empty, 
and the family before leaving seemed to 
have made some effort to store away in safe 
places their household goods. We found a 
feather bed and several other articles in an old 
well. All this time away to our left the boom- 
ing of cannon and the roar of small arms could 
be heard. About 4 p. m. a courier dashed up 
to Granbury's headquarters under a great oak, 
and handed him a dispatch. The General did 
not wait to send orders to the commanders of 
regiments to get their regiments ready to move 
but rose up at once and gave the command : 
" Attention, Brigade ! " We were in line, every 
man in his place, in less time than it requires to 
pencil four of these lines, and at the command 
'' Right face ! forward ! double quick march ! " we 
were off on a run. We were moved to the right 
about the length of our brigade, came to a halt, 



212 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

and the command for the men to put caps on 
theh^ guns was given. We were hi a big road ; 
opposite the left of our brigade was the corner 
of the farm ah'eady referred to. Near the fence 
a deep gorge set in running east and about the 
length of our brigade, and spread out in a valley 
farm at the foot of the gorge. Between the 
two farms was a heavy woodland. We moved 
some forty yards down the hill in the thick 
brush, and as we Avent in a line of Confed- 
erate cavalry moved out. We were commanded 
to lay down, and by this time a strong line 
of Federal infantry struck us. It was an open 
field fight. The enemy, so the prisoners we 
captured said, thought we were only a thin line 
of cavalry, and they came at us with a vim 
based upon that mistaken idea. Line after line 
they came against us. Their lines were so much 
longer than ours they extended into the field to 
our right, and about one hour by sun they had 
passed through the field and were several hun- 
dred yards in the rear of our right. General 
Granbury sent his Adjutant-General, the gallant 
Capt. Jose T. Hearne, to lead the 8th Arkan- 
sas of Gen. Govan's brigade in a charge to 
drive them back. He succeeded, but was shot 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 213 

dead just as he was entering the old field. Just 
at sundown the order came down the line from 
mouth to ear, '' Fix bayonets !" In an instant 
a thousand bayonets gleamed in the twihght, 
and every man seemed determined to hold 
this hue or give up his life in the effort. 
Just before dark the command came down 
the line ''Cease firing!" No one could tell 
who gave it, but it was obeyed. At this 
the Federal line rose up in our front, not more 
than fifteen yards from us. We commanded 
them to surrender. A few of them threw down 
their arms and came in. This it seems was a 
ruse to fool us and afford the enemy time to get 
their line in order, as the bluff they had to come 
up was very steep, and difficult to climb in line 
of battle. "When it was about quite dark, and 
they thought they had lines enough and force 
enough to run over us, an officer stepped to the 
front and said, '' Run over them, men !" This 
uncovered to us the ruse they had been playing 
and we poured a volley into them that com- 
pletely routed them. They fell back down to 
the bottom of the gorge, which was about one 
hundred yards from our line. Gen. Granbury 
knew that w^e could not live in peace with 



214 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

them at such close range, and sent Capt. 
Dick English to Gen. Cleburne's headquarters 
asking permission to charge them. Gen. Cle- 
burne replied that he could not give his per- 
mission for the move, but that he would refer 
the matter at once to army headquarters, and 
that in the meantime Gen. Granbury should be 
governed by his own best judgment as to what 
was best to be done under existing circum- 
stances. This was enough for the lion-hearted 
Granbury, and about 1 o'clock in the morning 
we were very quietly formed in line, every man 
being fully advised as to what was to be done, 
and at the sound of the bugle we dashed down 
w^ith a yell, into that dark gorge, like a whirl- 
wmid. This was just a little too much for the 
Federals ; they broke and in their efforts to get 
away they tore the brush like cattle. ISiext 
morning we could locate where their lines had 
been by the guns they had run off and left. 
Well, it was enough to scare them, we yelled 
like mad men as we were, and if they had stood 
their ground it would have been a hand to hand 
fight. Down in this gorge it was as dark as a 
pile of black cats, and we got pretty badly mixed 
and done some fighting amongst ourselves. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 215 

We could hear all up and down that deep gorge 
such challenges as, '' Who's that? " '' Who are 
you? '* Pop ! pop ! '^ I belong to the 167 New 
York, or 144 Illmois." " Well, come into my 
shuck, ye greasy flitter.'* We captured about 
two hundred of them and when the sun had chased 
the shades of night away beyond the Rocky 
Mountains, it revealed a scene on that hillside 
that was sickening to look upon. All along in 
front of the center and left of our brigade the 
ground was literally covered with dead men. To 
look upon this and then the beautiful wild- 
woods, the pretty flowers as they drank in the 
morning dew, and listen to the sweet notes of 
the songsters in God's first temples, we were 
constrained to say, " What is man and his 
destiny, what a strange thing is the problem of 
life." We dug two pits and in them deposited 
the mortal remains of about ^ve hundred men. 
During the day Johnson and quite all the gen- 
eral officers of the army visited and inspected 
the battle grounds, and all agreed that they had 
never seen or read of anything like it. 

Our brigade Avas armed with a little short 
gun, called the Belgian Rifle, and they sent a 
ball with such force that the undergrowth and 



216 



UNWRITTEN HISTCmV OF THE 



small trees in our front that measured from two 
to five inches and over were actually shot into 
shreds. 

About two o'clock in the afternoon we were 
moved out and to the right. We remember 
passing just in rear of our line where some half 
dozen dead comrades were lying on the green 
grass in the cool shade of a sugar tree, and they 
looked so quiet, when all around was in such 
terrific strife, that we almost wished that we 
were with them. After going about a mile we 
were put in line and worked all day digging 
rifle pits, which were abandoned about dark, 
and after marching all night we went into posi- 
tion on wdiat was called the Pine Mountain or 
Golofotha Church line. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 217 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

PTNE MOUNT AIX — GEN. LEONID AS POLK KILLED — 
SLEEP IN WATER HALF SIDE DEEP — THE KEN- 
ESAW LINE — JOHNSTON REMOVED, HOOD AP- 
POINTED IN HIS STEAD. 

When we left our readers in last chapter, we 
were on our way to Pine Mountain or the Golgotha 
Church line. The night was very dark. The 
whole army seemed to be moving on one road. 
All night long it was moved a few paces and 
then stand and wait. We were so tired and 
sleepy that strong men would give up and fall 
down in the mud or drop out to one side and it 
seemed that they would be sound asleep by the 
time they would get laid down. 

About daylight our brigade was strung out in 
line just across the creek and east of Golgotha. 
The church house was an old-fashioned build- 
ing, and was the place where the Missionary 
Baptists of that section met each Lord's day to 
worship. We remained here from the 2d to the 
18th of June. It was on this line that the great 



218 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

bishop of the Episcopal church and general m 
the army, Leonidas Polk, was killed. The news 
of his death passed down our line from man to 
man. The circumstances of his death as we 
gathered them at the time, were as follows : 
Generals Johnston, Hardee and Polk had gone 
to the front on Pine Mountain. The enemy dis- 
covered them and opened tire with a battery. 
Johnston and Hardee remarked that it was an 
unsafe place. Gen. Polk remained and was 
struck by a cannon ball. He was a great and 
good man and when leading his corps in battle 
he wouldn't swear, but would say to his men, 
" Give it to them, boys, like General Cheatham 
says." The only command General Cheatham 
gave was " Give them h — 1 boys." 

While it was yet dark we moved out on the 
morning of the 18th, and formed a line on a 
high range of hills. Here during the forenoon 
we were under the most terrific tire from field 
artillery we remember being subject to during 
the war. 

We remember seeing Brig. -Gen. Polk of 
North Carolina, as he was carried from the 
field, he having been wounded in the leg by a 
piece of shell. All day we remained on this 



WAR BETWEKN THE STATES. 219 

line, and how the rain did pour down on ns 
all day, only those that were there can tell. 
We remember when night came of trying to 
sleep in water half side deep. The nndertaking 
was all right until we would move and let in a 
lot of cold fresh water, then sleep would quit 
our eyes, and slumber flee from our eyelids. 
We had the consolation, however, of knowing 
that each of us were drowning several hundred 
" gray backs." 

About midnight we were put on the move 
and went into position about sunrise on the 
great Kenesaw line. The writer's company 
was amongst those put on picket. We marched 
deployed as skirmishers quite a mile, through a 
field of growing oats, and the slow rain that had 
been falling all night made the trip through this 
field very much like wading a river. About ten 
o'clock Ave were ordered back to w^here w^e had 
first formed in the morning, the right of our 
company resting at the Cartersville and Marietta 
road, while the left extended out into an old 
field. In a verj^ short time we had breastworks 
made of rails, old logs, etc., that afforded some 
protection. By eleven o'clock the enemy was 
pressing us, and they seemed to be getting 



220 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

bolder and more aggressive every day, while v^e 
from the effects of so many times giving up 
lines and falling back were getting more or less 
out of hope and timid. There fell several hard 
rains during the day and on some parts of our 
line the men at times were in water up to their 
arm-pits. Between these showers a constant 
firing was kept up, w^e doing all we could to 
hold the line, and the enemy trying to press us 
out. By sunset our lines were only a few 
paces apart. By this time the clouds had rolled 
away, the sun went down clear and left the 
big silver moon high in the heavens to give us 
light in our efforts to take each other's lives. 
About ten o'clock Lieut. J. L. McCracking, 
commanding Company '' E " came out w^ith his 
company to relieve us. The writer went back 
some twenty paces in rear of our line to show him 
how to deploy his company to cover the ground 
we were on. We pointed with our sword where 
his right should rest near the big road, and to a 
stump where his left must extend to ; about this 
time a dark fleecy cloud that had been over the 
face of the moon passed off and a Federal who 
was very near our line took aim at the writer. 
He was a good shot, as the ball singed our mus- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATE3. 221 

tache ; the shock was so great we came very 
near falling. Merrett Matthews standing close 
by msisted that we were shot, declaring he 
heard the ball strike us. Another instance of 
narrow escape and we pass along. During the 
day a bomb shell exploded in a pile of rails and 
it was hard to tell for a few moments which 
were blown the highest, the rails, pieces of rails, 
or the boys ; we remember Frank Cook of Wise 
County, as one of the boys who went up and 
came down running; he stopped, however, be- 
hind a big stump just a few paces in rear, he 
yet had his rifle in hand and went at them as 
though nothing had happened. He was a big 
light-haired, blue-eyed boy ; we can see him yet 
as he deliberately lays his gun up by that old 
stump and takes aim. This closed our day's 
work of the 19th of June, 1864. 

We were marched back to the main Kenesaw 
line, and after making a supper on cold " biled " 
Florida beef and cold, musty, wet, clammy corn 
bread, we turned in wrapped in wet blankets 
and the last sound that greeted our ears as we 
went to sleep and the first when we woke up in 
the morning was the voice of a minnie, not the 
Miss Minnie that used to play and sing for us 



222 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

over in Wise County, before grim-visaged 
War put on his paint, but minnie balls, and the 
variety of tunes they sung when passing over 
us night and day, seemed to take in the whole 
range and scope of the world's gamut of music. 
We were on this line just fourteen days and 
nights and the booming of cannon and keen 
crack of the rifles Avas kept up all day and night, 
except at such places along the line as the men 
would get up an armistice on their own hook. 
The redoubts for our brigade were about one 
hundred yards in front of our main line of works 
and the Federal line of the same kind was in 
some places as near as twenty yards of ours. 
When conditions were favorable, a Yankee 
soldier Avould step out and shake a newspaper 
and say, ''Hello, Johnnie Reb." "Hello, 
Yank, what do you want." " Let's hold 
awhile, we Avant to swap some of our Lincoln 
coffee for yer' flat tobacco." " All right, lay 
down yer gun and meet us half way." Thus 
we would meet, crack jokes, swap rations of 
tobacco and coffee and have a jolly good time 
until some big officer of the day on either side 
would come along, then all hands would scamper 
back to their holes in the ground. These re- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 223 

spites from constant watching and fighting were 
a great help to ns. 

We had now been on the march or in line of 
battle quite sixty days, and hard service with 
poor rations of corn bread, bean crackers and 
boiled beef was telling on the health of the army. 
Referring to the bean crackers any good soldier 
will stand by ns in the assertion that after soak- 
ing it a day and night in water it would come 
out as tough as a cow's horn. 'Not having had 
a change of food or raiment for sixty days, we 
were not to say very clean, the scurvy broke out 
amongst us, some of the boys' legs were as black 
and brown as navy tobacco. Gen. Johnston had 
several car loads of tomatoes shipped up from 
Florida, Alabama and other States and as an anti- 
scorbutic they proved a success, but the body- 
lice had a dead sinch on us, until some of the 
boys discovered that they could not stand smoke 
and heat. Just before turning in at night each 
fellow would rake him up a pile of dry leaves, 
set fire therein and hold his shirt over the smoke 
and heat, and the big, fat lice would drop into 
the lire and pop like popcorn popping in the 
skillet at home. If you never have tried it you 
know nothing of how confortable a shirt feels 



224 UNWRITTEN HISTORY* OF THE 

to a fellow after putting it through the above 
process ; we would then crawl into the shirt and 
then into our dog tent and sleep as sweetly as 
a tom-cat stretched on a great rug before the 
fire-place at the old homestead. But we must 
move along. 

'Tis sunset on Kenesaw, and from our line 
on the mountain we can see the beautiful city of 
Atlanta, the gate to the South, and only about 
twelve or fifteen miles away ; and as we take in 
the situation after sixty days' hard fighting, the 
care-worn looks of the officers and men, the 
quiet manner of moving the heavy artillery to 
the rear, we wonder what is coming next, but 
almost as we expected, about 11 o'clock of the 
night of July the 3rd we were ordered to aban- 
don the great Kenesaw line, and march through 
the pretty city of Marietta, the citizens of which 
seemed as quietly asleep in their beds as if an 
angel of peace was roosting in every shade tree. 

On the morning of the 4th we formed another 
line near the Chattahouche river, and by the time 
we were ready for fight Sherman's advance was 
in sight. About one o'clock they charged our 
picket line and drove the men in. Capt. Rhodes 
Fisher, commanding our regiment, ordered Lieut. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 225 

HaiToll, commanding Company A, and the 
writer, to take their companies and retake the hne 
of picket works. The Federals were in our ad- 
vance works and we had to go at them through 
an open space we had cleared ourselves in front 
of our main line, a distance of about two hundred 
yards. We all knew that there were but two 
things we could do, go into the works on them 
and be killed in the attemjpt, or refuse to go. 
We went at them like a herd of wild cattle ; they 
gave us a warm reception but we made them 
pull their freight. About sundown they made 
an effort to retake the works but we repulsed 
them, a Federal Lieutenant was shot down, badly 
wounded near our line ; he gave some of the 
boys his rings, watch and some other things 
and requested that they be sent to his wife and 
two children somewhere in Indiana, after the war 
closed. Some time during the night we were 
moved back and put on an already fortified line 
nearer the river. •Here Sherman seemed to want 
to stop and rest a few days and spit on his 
hands, and God knows that we were more than 
willing, for we not only needed rest, but we 
wanted time to wash our shirts as well as take a 
swim in the Chattahoache. 

15 



226 UNWRITTEN HISTORY^ OF THE 

On the 12th this scientifically fortified line 
was abandoned, we crossed over the river and 
lay around loose under the shades of the great 
oaks and rested until July the 18th ; this was 
a bright Sunday and the boys instead of all 
going to hear preaching had their blankets 
spread and were playing draw-poker or shaking 
dice. The writer along with a majority of his 
company was playing a little game in the deep 
shade of a great oak, on a big moss-covered flat 
rock for a table, when Adjutant John Willing- 
ham came up and read the order from President 
Davis removing Gen. Jos. E. Johnston from 
command and putting Gen. John B. Hood in 
command of the Army of Tennessee. The boys 
all threw down their cards and collected in little 
groups discussing the new move they were all 
dissatisfied, but soon dismissed the whole with 
the remark h — 1 will break loose in Georgia sure 
enough now. Hood was a bull- dog fighter from 
away back, and President Davis could not have 
suited General Sherman better, had he commis- 
sioned him to have made the appointment. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 227 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

GEN. HOOD GOES ON THE WAR PATH — BATTLE 
OF PEACH TREE CREEK, JULY 20, 1863 — 
WOUNDED BY A YANKEE BULLET — IN HOSPI- 
TAL AT EORSYTHE — AT THE REV. CLEVE- 
LAND'S — A JOLLY GOOD TIME AFTER ALL. 

Early on the morning of the 19th, Gen. 
Hood had the whole army on the move ^' right 
in front." We were old soldiers enongh by this 
time to know that this order in our line of march 
meant that Sherman was making a move to turn 
our right flank. Our division was moved to and 
put on a line some two miles east of the Peach 
Tree Creek road. Here we remained overnight. 
On the morning of the 20th, we were moved still 
further to the right in the direction of Decatur. 
"We remained here in line of battle until about 
3 o'clock in the afternoon, when we were moved 
in double quick time back to the Peach Tree 
Creek road, and our division maned a line of 
works and at right angles to this road just in 
front of a big church house. The right center of 



228 UNWRITTEN HISTOHY OF THE 

Granbury's Texas brigade, being near the road, 
with Govan's Arkansaw brigade, or Joshes', 
as we boys called them to our right. The writer 
was detailed and put in command of Company 
''C" Lieut. John W. Stewart of Grayson 
County, Texas, being too indisposed to go into 
battle with his company. Every movement 
pointed with the unerring finger of certainty to 
the fact that somebody was going to get badly 
hurt and that in short order. 

In front of our brigade was an open field 
about four hundred yards across. About 4:30 
o'clock the command was given, '^forward 
march ; " we quit the works and moved out into 
the field. The Federals greeted us with a ter- 
rific fire of shot and shells but as we were mov- 
ing down the hill they passed over our heads, 
doing no damage except that of making a fellow 
feel like he was very small game to be shot at 
with such guns. 

On we go, now the lines come to the fence 
on the farm already referred to, the line 
halts, and the men take hold of it and just 
bodily lift it from its foundation and throw 
it down ; just at this moment a blinding flash 
right in our front and a shell explodes. It 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 229 

seemed to be filled with powder and ounce 
balls. It laid a good many of the boys out 
and among the number was Capt. Ben Tyus, 
and the writer. The former was wounded in 
the anlde, while the latter received an ounce 
ball in the upper third of his left thigh. 
As we fell we noticed that about two inches 
square of our gray Georgia jeans pants had 
gone in with the shot ; this was conclusive that 
a piece of the shell had passed through our 
thigh and had necessarily cut the femoral artery , 
and that therefore we would be a dead Confed- 
erate in just three minutes, as our understanding 
is that the femoral artery cut would let all the 
blood in a man out in that time. However we 
made a grip on the wound with our right hand 
intending to stop the blood as much as possible 
and thereby hold on to life long enough to give 
our past history a hasty going over and to repeat 
all the prayers we knew. Four big stout fellows 
picked us up on a litter and started back to the 
line of breastworks. We had to pass through 
a galling fire of minnies, shot and shell ; w^e were 
not alarmed at all at this, because our mind was 
made up to quit the earth, and we were now 
only waiting, as the saying goes, for death to 



230 uisnVRiTTEN historV of the 

strike us square in the face. "We finally vent- 
ured to inquire of one of the men carrying us, 
^' If we were bleeding much." He was a witty 
Irishman, and replied, " ]^ot a drap of the rudy 
current to be seen, Lieutenant." These words 
brought back our hopes that had already gone 
over the hills out of sight, and made us remark 
that an improvement in gait would soon land us 
out of reach of these Yankee bullets, and then 
we chuckled in our sleeve when the thought 
occurred may be this wound will win a good 
furlough and if it does, won't we have fun 
with those Georgia girls. This may all sound 
like a strange line of thoughts to run through 
one's mind in so short a time and under such 
circumstances, but all this is sound common 
sense compared to some things we are guilty of 
doing during our natural lives. Pretty soon we 
were dumped over on the safe side of our earth- 
works, the field surgeon examined oar wound 
and pronounced it an ugly one, but not neces- 
sarily fatal. We thanked him from the bottom 
of our heart for these words. About ten of us 
were piled into an old ambulance and the driver 
pulled out for Atlanta. We were landed at 
the City Hall, the commons around this building 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. £31 

having been turned into a carving pen, and the 
doctors had more subjects than they had table 
room. We were laid on a big broad j)ine table 
and four stout men put to hold us, one to each 
arm and leg, while Doctors D. F. Stuart of 
Houston and C. Lipscomb of Denton, went into 
the ugly wound w4th probes and fingers in 
search for the missing piece of our Georgia 
jeans ; chloroform was too scarce and costly to 
be used on us and besides there were so many 
needing attention that the doctors could not 
spare time to administer it except in very bad 
cases, therefore we had to endure the pain. 
The ball that struck us was mashed flat on one 
side to about the size of a quarter, and went in 
the flat way turning on the femoral artery. "We 
were then stored away on a nice clean cot in a 
new tent in a little park just across the street in 
front of the Trout House, and remained there 
overnight and were shipped early next morning 
along with many others down to a little city on 
the Macon road called Forsythe. And now being 
away from our command we plead our lack of 
any knowledge as to what the boys were doing, 
as an excuse for devoting so much time to our 
personal experiences in a Confederate hospital, 



232 UNWKITTEN HISTORT? OF THE 

and to our raids over the country while on fur- 
lough. All the Texas fellows were located in an 
old two story hotel on the southeast corner of 
the square J chicken, good coffee, fresh butter 
and a clean bed here was rich fare, compared to 
what we had been having in the army. Capt. 
Ben Tyus, a young man from Memphis, Tenn., 
and the writer, were assigned to a room on 
the second floor and immediately over the 
office. We not only had a nice clean room, 
good beds and good grub, but the lady who 
was head boss of our ward was better than 
all these. She was so kind and attentive to 
our every want, that we were soon at war 
amongst ourselves about whose sweetheart 
she should be as soon as we got on crutches, 
but to our great astonishment the nearer well 
we got the less attention she paid to us, and by 
the time we were going around she didn't know 
us at all. How strange these women do some- 
times act. But seriously, she was in the right, 
because if she had undertaken to listen to 
the love that all of us soldiers would have made 
to her, her time would have all been consumed 
and those needing attentions neglected. "We 
were having what might be called a hog-kilHng 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 233 

time, until the break-bone wounded man's 
fever se^ np in this mortal coil. When onr 
wound commenced suppurating, matter pressed 
on what the doctor called the femoral nerve, 
causino^ the most acute pain in our left arm and 
leg, the tender place in our knee and the sugar 
bone in our left arm were the points most 
affected ; the pain was so great that we certainly 
would have had lock-jaw had we not been kept 
under the influence of morphine for 18 days and 
nights. The head surgeon, a doctor Patterson 
from Murphysboro , Tennessee , we remember very 
kindly, but that slick hat fellow from Memphis, 
was doubtless a good doctor but we owe him one 
if we ever meet up with him on this side of the 
river. Proud flesh formed in our wound, caus- 
ing great pain and we were making lots of noise 
about it. The way it protruded from the big 
hole in our thighs made it look more like a big 
rank red rose at a certain distance from it than 
anything else we can compare it to. He sat us 
down one hot afternoon, on the side of our cot, 
and while a big Irishman by the name of Pat 
Bates from 'New Orleans held our arms behind 
us, he gouged in to the wound with the sharp 
corners of a chunk of bluestone, until he burned 



234 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

it as white as the paper we are writing on, it 
was a terrible ordeal to pass through, and when 
the Irishman turned us loose we struck the doc- 
tor one of the best blows we had ever struck 
with our fist, right on top of his slick nail keg- 
hat, and drove it down on his head to his ears. 
He laughed and took it all good naturedly. 
The next falling out we had was when he sud- 
denly cut off our supply of morphine. "We 
lay wide awake four days and nights. We 
made so much noise about it that the doctor 
finally brought us a quart bottle of Confederate 
whisky. We threw it at him. We didn't know 
then that a couple or more good bumpers of it 
would cause sleep to come. From this time on 
we commenced to imj)rove, and were soon able 
to go on crutclies down to the regular dining- 
room. 

About the first of September, a rich old 
Georgia planter by the name of Cleveland came 
in with his fine carriage and di-iver, and hauled 
Maj.-Gen. W. B. Bate of Tennessee, Lieut. 
McCracken and this scribe to his fine old planta- 
tion on the Chatahoochee. He was a hardshell 
Baptist preacher. We remained at his house 
about one month, and to say that we luxuriated 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. ^35 

on his old " peach " and candied honey therein, 
and fed on young pigeons, and the fat of the 
land wonld be telling a simple plain gospel 
truth. Gen. Bate was one of the best talkers 
we have ever met in life, and that old peach and 
honey kept his tongue oiled up to a queen's 
taste. 

About October the first, we returned to the 
city. All this time Hood and Sherman had 
been shaking the country about Atlanta, Jones- 
boro and Lovejoy station with heavy ordnance 
and the tread of mighty armies. Everything 
was getting pretty squally about Forsythe and 
in all the country around, and because of the 
danger of Federal cavalry raids quite all the 
wounded and sick had been shipped to Macon 
and other points south. About 4 p. m., the 
last train coming out before the fall of Atlanta 
ran up to the station at Forsythe. It con- 
sisted of an engine, tender and one box car. 
This was the first but not the last ride we have 
had on a car when the throttle valve was being 
manipulated by a dead drunk engineer. The 
train came dashing up like a cannon ball. We 
climbed on top the box car, and like all other 
soldiers, had a habit of saying, '^ Here's your 



236 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

mule/' An old fellow who was sitting a-strad- 
dle of a feather bed he had roped to the walking 
board, said : " Yes, if you ride this train you 
can claim to be two mules, for that d — m en- 
gineer is drunk." AYe sat down on the board 
and he pulled out. Pretty soon we were a-strad- 
dle of it, the next move we laid flat down on it 
and locked our legs and arms around it to hold 
on. It was about fifty miles to Macon, and the 
best estimate we could make of the time, we ran 
it in about thirty minutes. It seemed that the 
car we were on would jump about four feet from 
the track and run forty yards before coming 
down to its knitting again. When we arrived 
in Macon every box was smoking like a tar kiln ; 
we had lost our cap and the wonder is that the 
hair and scalp did not go with it. We felt 
dazed and full of wind, and the natural taste of 
a drink of Georgia pine top whisky at the Brown 
house was the first thing convincing that us 
was certainly we. 

Prom here we went down to the old city 
of Americus. Lieut. Jim Perry, of Byran, 
Texas, and a Doctor Smith, from IS'ew Or- 
leans, and the writer had quarters in a 
room in the court house while here. We 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 237 

were all nice young men. The baskets of nice 
palatable provisions that the good women of 
the grand old town supplemented our regular- 
rations with made our living very fine. "We 
were having a royal time laying up in day time 
and chewing sugar-cane, and running around 
courting at night, until one day about the 11th' 
of November, a red-headed, red-whiskered, red- 
eyed doctor by the name of Eedwine, came in- 
to our room and remarked in a very authoritive 
manner, " this outfit is about ready to go to the 
front." We knew he was about right, and 
asked for orders. Lieut. Perry because of a 
lame hand was made military conductor on a 
railroad. Dr. Smith took orders to his com- 
mand, and the writer received orders to go to 
his command which was then at Florence, Ala., 
and was also instructed to gather up all the 
able-bodied men he could find at Columbus, 
Ga., Montgomery, Ala., Selma and Meridian, 
Miss. We had one hundred and five men on 
our roll. Among them was a very handsome, 
smart young fellow, from Memphis, by the 
name of Hyde, who had been a comedian in a 
theater there before the war. He could make 
fun for us all. We arrived at Corinth in the 



238 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

night-time. Hyde and the writer went to 
headquarters and drew rations for one hundred 
and five men, but when we went to our camping 
place, just outside the city, we had only five 
men to answer to roll-call. We had a quarter 
of fat beef and lots of crackers. The morning 
was cold and frosty, and when we awoke, got 
uj^ and looked out over the country, the out- 
look was disheartening. Corinth was a hard, 
dirty-looking town, the few people remaining 
seemed to be out of humor with themselves and 
all of their kind. The country around had the 
appearance of having been blasted by the curse 
of the gods. After two days marching we 
reached our command at Florence, Ala., on 
JSTovember 19th, 1864. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 239 



CHAPTEK XXVIII. 

hood's campaign in TENNESSEE — THE SPRING 
HILL FAILURE — BATTLE OE ERANItLIN, NOVEM- 
BER 30, 1864. 

The army remained for some days camped 
around on the hills about Florence. This delay 
was for the purpose of drawing all the able- 
bodied men from the hospital, and also all that 
could with safety be spared from the forts, as well 
as to get supplies for the campaign into Tennes- 
see. We were poorly clad, and as for arrange- 
ments for sleeping comfortably, that was out 
of the question. The writer and his bunk mate, 
Lt. Sam Beck, raked together a big pile of dried 
leaves for a feather bed, and until they wore out 
it was a pretty good substitute. Each of us had 
a hole in the ground just to fit our hip, and we 
changed from side to side at the word of com- 
mand. In other words, we " spooned," and 
when we would get cold beyond our powers of 
endurance, we would get up, push up the chunks, 
make a good fire, light our pipes, smoke, crack 



240 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

jokes and cuss our luck. The exception to the 
rule was to see a soldier who did not smoke. 
The fact is, as a rule we were all pipe-makers, 
for we would get the root of ivy, saw it into 
blocks, and each fellow would have something 
to whittle on as the long days rolled by ; and 
we have seen pipes thus made, with a pocket- 
knife only, that would lay over any of the briar- 
roots we have seen in stores for beauty of design 
and excellence of finish. And when you meet 
a rebel soldier to-day that don't smoke and don't 
like a social glass, you can as a rule put it down 
that he was not in many hard and ''sole" try- 
ing campaigns. But enough of this, as we 
must keep moving if we keep sight of the 
stirring events of those days. 

Early on the morning of November 23, 1864, 
Hood's army was on the move in the direction 
of Nashville, Tennessee. The heavens above 
were dark and gloomy. The roads were in fair 
condition, and the boys were all as gay as larks. 
All seemed to be rejoiced at the idea that a de- 
cisive blow was going to be struck. Pretty 
soon a blinding snow storm set in, but on we 
went as cheerful and light-hearted to all appear- 
ances as school boys, Forrest's cavalry being 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 241 

in front, and cleaning- np the Yankees as fast as 
he canght up with them. We infantry fel- 
lows had nothing to do until we struck 
the enemy at Columbia, Tennessee, about 
16,000 strong, under command of General 
Schofield. Gen. S. D. Lee strung out his corps 
as if he was going to sail into them, w^hile Hood 
with the other two corps of infantry undertook 
to play Sherman on them by a flank movement. 
The boys were perfectly delighted with this 
move. We moved around to the right of the 
city, crossed the river on pontoons, and lit out 
for Schofield's rear; and in marching through 
the cedar brakes and the old red clay fields, it 
was not long before a fair per cent of our com- 
mand were as barefooted as they came into the 
world. The writer marched one whole day with 
his feet as bare as is the hand penning these 
lines. But the idea of our flanking the Yankees 
was such a good joke that we kept going. We 
remember passing during the day a magnificent 
old farm house. The good lady and her pretty 
daughters came out near where our line was pass- 
ing, and opened up a regular old-fashioned 
Methodist camp-meeting. They shook hands 
with the boys as they passed until their arms 

16 



242 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

were as limp as a dish-rag. The old lady finally 
gave out, and from the greatness of her good 
rebel heart she said she wished she had a hand 
" big enough to shake hands with all the Army 
of Tennessee at one time." 

On we went, through farms and by-ways, over 
hills, through valleys and wading creeks as we 
came to them, and about two hours by sun we 
came in sight of the JSTashville and Columbia 
pike at Spring Hill, nine miles in Schofield's 
rear. All day we could hear Lee's guns press- 
ing Schofield, yet in Columbia, and we just 
knew that we had him. Just south of Spring 
Hill was a farm extending up to the pike and 
the town as well, and our line, Cleburne's Di- 
vision, was formed at once and moved forward 
through the field, under a pretty heavy artillery 
fire from a battery up near the city. 
But on we went, and when we got in sight 
of the pike it was lined as far as we 
could see both ways with a Yankee train of 
wagons, and it was moving in a hurry, and 
best of all, there was only a line of Federal 
skirmishers between us and it. The hearts of 
the boys beat high with joy at the prospect of 
getting to ''prowl" all these wagons. We 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 243 

were not more than three hundred yards from 
the train when all at once we were commanded 
to halt. Our line dressed to the right, and at 
the command, ''Right face, double-quick, 
march ! " we moved off to the right in a run. 
We had to pass within about four hundred 
yards of the battery already referred to, and 
you can bet your high ocean wave that it 
poured the shot and shell into us " from who 
laid the chunk." We moved about half a mile 
to the right, halted, dressed to the left, and at 
the command, ''Left face, forward, double- 
quick, march ! " we went back over the ground 
we had just come over to a point immediately 
in front of the battery. By this time it was 
dark. We were all astonished at our line not 
being thrown across the pike, capturing this 
whole train and completely cutting off Schofield's 
retreat. 

Some of the boys said at the time that we were 
waiting for Bate's Division, which had stopped 
to bridge the creek we had waded just a little 
way back. 

About an hour after dark, Granbury's brigade 
was moved forward to the farm fence. We 
were halted and ordered to lay down. Pretty 



244 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

soon we heard troops moving just over beyond 
the fence. Some one said: ''That is Bates' 
Division 'tieing' on to om^ left." Others 
insisted that they were Yankees. Dick English 
of General Granbury's staff, said: "I'll be 
d — d if I don't intend to find out." The boys 
letdown the fence for him, and he went in on his 
mule. This was the last we saw of Capt. Dick 
English. He was captured by Henry and Jess 
Owens, two Federals we met over in Wise 
County since the war. At this time we were in 
sixty yards of the pike. We remained here 
until about ten o'clock, were then moved back 
about 100 yards, built fires, ate our supper, of 
parched corn and " biled" pork, laid down and 
went to sleep ; and while we slept and slumbered 
Schofield's army passed by on its way to Frank- 
lin. We were actually so close to the pike, and 
had such poor guard arrangements that many 
Federal soldiers came out to our fires as they 
passed by to light their pipes, and were cap- 
tured. 

Generals Hood, Cheatham, Bate and others, 
in high places, have said a good deal since the 
war in trying to ^x the blame for this disgrace- 
ful failure ; but the easiest and most charitable 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 245 

way to dispose of the whole matter is to say 
that the gods of battle were against us and in- 
jected confusion into the heads and tongues of 
our leaders. 

When the morning of the 29th came, cold, 
bright and frosty, there was nobody there but us. 
Not a Federal to be seen except a few dead 
ones. The writer found a Federal staff officer 
(at least he looked like one from the way he was 
dressed) ; he had on a ISTo. 5 pair of AVelling- 
ton boots, and as his soul had quit this mortal 
coil and gone up from the field of so-called 
glorious war, we remarked to ourself : " Well, 
as we are barefooted, and he don't need those 
boots any more nohow, I reckon we will take 
them ;" and whether it was for the sin of robbing 
a dead man, or the sin of putting a ]^o. 8 foot in- 
to a No. 5 boot, we paid dearly for those boots, 
as the sequel will show. We warmed a piece of 
our cold " biled " pork by the fire, greased our 
heel and instep, and worked into them. The 
boys all said we looked nice, and indeed more 
like a French dancing master than a Confeder- 
ate soldier. 

Pretty soon everything was on the move 
towards Franklin. The pike was lined with 



246 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

broken-down wagons and bursted-up caissons, 
everything showing that the Yankees were in- 
tensely in earnest in their efforts to get away 
from ns. We hadn't gone a mile until those 
boots were biting our feet. At the end of the 
next mile they were eating on them like a litter 
of honnd pnps would a chunk of liver. At the 
end of the third mile we were slashing along 
Avith our feet in the upper end of the boot legs. 
At the end of the fourth mile we walked out 
of them and on to the pike with bare feet, 
and O, how the sharp flint I'ocks on that Ten- 
nessee pike did scarify our soles. But then 
'' there is no remission of sin without the shed- 
ding of blood." 

About three o'clock in the afternoon we 
climbed the high hills about one mile south of 
Franklin, and had a fine view of the pretty lit- 
tle city, as it nestled down in the valley, on the 
banks of the clear, laughing, limpid waters of 
Harper's Creek. 

On the right of the pike was an open valley 
farm, on the left a magnificent open woodland. 

Away to the right, above the citv, and across 
the creek, is a f rownmg fort. All hi ^ur front, 
extending from the creek above to the creek 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 247 

below the city, is the Federal line of breast- 
works, and behind the works are heavy lines of 
Federal infantry, and about 40 yards in front of 
their main line is a skillfully arranged abattis. 
This was made from a grove of young trees of 
white locust that grew hard by. They had cut 
those trees and laid them in a line with the tops 
toward us, with each limb trinnned to a sharp 
point. 

Cleburne's Division of Mississippi, Arkansas 
and Texas troops were to the right of the pike, 
the left of Granbury's brigade resting at the 
pike. Gen. Hood and his staff are setting 
their horses on a little knoll over to the right, 
and just in rear of Govan's brigade. We see 
Cleburne, Cheatham, Bate and other generals. 
Riding up to where they are, we see Hood, and 
his tried marshals in council. We see them ride 
away slowly,' each to his command, and the 
word soon comes down the line: ''Men, Gen. 
Hood says we must take those works." The 
deep, solemn silence that prevails about the hills 
and down in the beautiful valley is disturbed now 
and then by a boom from along range gun, that 
sends an occasional shell quite to our line. Offi- 
cers of the line acquaint the men with the direful 



248 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

undertaking before them. They tighten their 
belts, draw their hats and caps well down over 
their heads, and at the command '' Forward, 
march ! ' ' the long line of Confederate inf an try- 
move down the hill and on throngh the open 
valley, with banners flying and bands playing 
our national airs — "Dixie " and the " Bonnie 
Bine Flag." Gen. Cleburne, on his fine bay 
mare, leads his division, the lion-hearted Gran- 
bury leads his brigade of Texans. When within 
about 400 yards of the enemy's works the com- 
mand rang down the line, " Forw^ard, double 
quick, march ! " Gen. Cleburne, with his cap 
in his right hand, and pointing toward the enemy, 
put his mare into a run. He was shot dead 
within about 100 yards of the works. Gen. 
Granbury was killed about the same time. 
This advance and charge came nearer measnring 
up to the pictures of battle we see in the books 
than anything we saw during the war. 

Our men went through the abattis and right 
on over the enemy's main works, but our line 
was so Aveak it could not hold the position, and 
those that were not captured fell back just out- 
side of the enemy's works, and with our men on 
the outside and the Federals on the inside, the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 249 

battle was kept up until about 1 o'clock in the 
morning. 

About this time the enemy retreated towards 
Nashville, about twenty miles away. Our less 
m officers and men was terrible. Our brigade 
went in with 1,100 bayonets, and only 460 men 
answered to roll-call the next morning. The 
writer walked on the battle-field, and having 
already described in these chapters as best we 
could the field of Chickamauga, we will 
abridge this by saying we saw where blood had 
flowed along the sewer by the pike like water. 
"We saw Confederates near the works who had 
been struck by hundreds of balls after they were 
dead. 

About 10 o'clock we moved on toward Nash- 
ville, but the heart of the grand army of Ten- 
nessee was broken. Why Hood made this 
fight, when he could have flanked the enemy 
out of their position in three hours, is a mystery 
that will be satisfactorily explained when we all 
shall have crossed to the other side. Gen. Hood 
was doubtless a brave, good man, but he lacked 
a great deal of being a military genius. 



250 UNWRITTEN HISTORY QF THE 



CHAPTEK XXIX. 

TRYING DAYS AROUND l^ASII VILLE — THE GREAT 
BATTLE DECEMBER 14tH Al^D 15tH — DISAS- 
TROUS RESULTS — THE RETREAT — OUR MULE, 
''kicking JIM." 

After a day of weary marching we arrived in 
the neighborhood of Nashville late in the even- 
ing of December 1. The conntry around the 
city, especially on the south, is a semi-valley, 
hilly country, yet a very large per cent of it 
was in farms, orchard, gardens, vineyards, etc. 
The line on which our brigade was placed was 
a high, open field. From it we could see the 
spires, domes, parapets and minarets of the 
capital city of Tennessee, with all its indications 
of wealth, ease and comfort. Around about the 
high points of the city on the south were many 
forts and ^' oodles " of big, black-mouthed can- 
non pointing our way. The weather was bitterly 
cold. First came a snow-storm, and then a 
''misting" rain, freezing as it fell. Here the 
mechanical genius of the boys was called into 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 251 

use ill providing winter quarters. Some con- 
structed very clever places to sleep in out of 
corn stalks. Others built houses in the shape 
of an old-fashioned chicken- coop, out of rails, 
and covered them with dirt, and when the boys 
would bounce out early in the morning to answer 
to roll-call, their dens would be steaming like a 
bed where an old sow and a litter of pigs had 
roosted over night. The writer knows whereof 
he speaks, he having been promoted to the 
honorable position of adjutant of a regiment, 
and it was his duty to take in the morning report 
of those present and absent. Our feet were in 
such a condition that we could not wear shoes, 
and we had them tied up in pieces of blanket. 
Our regimental headquarters were down in a 
ravine in rear of the line, andMaj. Tom Brough- 
ton's, the new commander of the brigade, was 
just over the way in a cluster of great oaks. 
The question of fuel was a serious one. The 
farm fences were of cedar rails, and when we 
would build a fire of them it would blaze up, 
snap and pop and jump away like fleas, and 
there would be nothing remaining but a black 
spot on the ground. Our rations consisted of 
unbolted flour, pork and beef. 



252 UNWRITTEN HISTOttY OF THE 

About the 12th the writer and Capt. James 
SelMrk, acting Lientenant-Colonel, made ap- 
plication for a two days' leave of absence and 
as it had to go to corps headquarters only, it 
was approved and returned on the 13th. He 
had a mule and the writer an old, long, lean 
sorrel horse. We lit out for the hilly country 
in our rear at once. The ground was covered 
with snow. The first night we stopped with a 
very clever, generous old farmer. He gave us 
good coffee, fresh butter and ham and eggs for 
supper, and a big, fat feather bed to sleep on ; 
the same for breakfast, supplemented w^ith fried 
chicken, and a Jeff Davis bumper of Robinson 
County whisky as a prelude. 

We put in the whole of the 14th in foraging 
around promiscuously over the country, gather- 
ing up "sox," shoes, boots, clothing, tobacco, 
in the hand or in the plug, to carry back to the 
boys. 

That night we stopped with a man named Cul- 
berson, and he treated us as though we were lords 
in the land. Seeing that we w^ere clothed and 
yet had no shoes on our feet, he took his boots 
from his own feet and presented them to the 
writer. His intentions, of course, were good, 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 253 

but those boots came very near costing us our 
life, as will appear later on. 

At two o'clock on the 15th our leave of 
absence expired by the law of limitation, and we 
must be at our command by that time or be 
subject to suspension as officers absent without 
leave. At twelve o'clock we were at the bury- 
ing ground of the Patterson family. It was 
some eight or ten miles south from Nashville, 
and from the names of the Pattersons on the 
tombstones, they must have been burying them 
there for the last two hundred years. From 
here we lit out for our command. When we 
arrived the battle was raging with tei-rific fury, 
and had been for two days. We soon found 
the boys. Maj. Tom Broughton had fallen by 
the way, and Capt. James Selkirk, command- 
ing our regiment, was put in command of the 
brigade, he being the ranking officer, and as the 
writer was his adjutant, he went up with him 
and was in the position of acting assistant 
adjutant-general, a powerful big jaw-breaking 
title for a fellow to put on all at once, and 
doubtless but for the circumstances surrounding 
we would have swelled like the toad in ^sop's 
fable. The snow had melted and the earth in 



254 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

the old fields was as soft as mush. In less 
than two hours we were ordered to charge 
the enemy. We drove them back. Our line was 
just to the right of the IN'ashville and Franklin 
pike, and Bate's division of Tennesseeans to the 
left. About three o'clock we were moved onto 
the pike and marched off in the direction of 
Franklin. All this time Bate's Tennesseeans 
were having a battle royal with the Yankees. 
The roar of musketry seemed to be greater than 
any we had heard during the war. All at once 
a big, mounted negro fellow came dashing 
down the mountain from the direction where 
the battle was raging. The writer caught the 
bridle of his horse and made him give up quite 
a lot of Ned Buntline's works. We were march- 
ing along at the head of the brigade, beside 
Commander Selkirk, examining our capture, 
and inwardly enjoying the prospect of having 
lots of good reading when the battle should 
end. While at this, Capt. Selkirk nudged 
us in the side and said, " Look, Wilkie" 
(for that was the nick-name he called us by) , 
''we are whipped." We cast our ''eagle 
eye ' ' over to the right and up on the mountain 
field, and sure enough the Confederates were 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 255 

running like wild cattle, throwing everything 
away that would in the least impede their flight. 
About this time the enemy run a battery upon 
the pike and sent a shell about every two 
seconds down just to the left of our line, 
screaming like the damned in purgatory, plow- 
ing up the earth and spattering us with mud. 
This put our boys on the run for the first time 
during the war. 

About this time a long, slim Tennessee mule 
came running diagonally towards the pike. He 
had been slightly wounded and was running 
for dear life. As he passed us we made a 
leap for him and caught in the piece of rope 
around his neck. He ran with us some 200 
yards, down through a field, our feet touching 
the ground now and then. When he reached a 
plank fence that ran off at right angles to the 
pike, he reared up on it with his fore feet, and 
while in this position we climbed on to him. We 
gathered up the slack rope, got our heels well 
fixed in his flanks, and then made a motion at 
the side of his head opposite to the pike with our 
hand, and he '' lit " down on a run for the pike, 
working his ears like a Texas jack rabbit getting 
out of the way of the hounds. The broad pike was 



256 UNWRITTEN HISTORl? OF THE 

full of wagons of every description, and the team 
drivers were Avhipping and slashing in every 
manner imaginable to get away. Our mule 
would sail through between the lead and wheel 
horses, back and forth, yet we '' sot " as close 
and tight as if we had been a part of him. On 
either side of the pike were the foot people. 
Our mule would '' swipe " them down platoons 
at a time, and time and again we heard them 
say: ^' Shoot that blasted feller on the mule." 
This did not alarm us in the least, for we much 
preferred being shot by our own men to going 
to a northern prison — we had ^' been there, 
Eli." About dark we struck Brentwood, a lit- 
tle station in the mountain where the railroad 
passed through, and as we passed a telegraph 
pole we slid down off our mule and wrapped the 
end of the rope around it. The stop was 
so sudden that he changed ends so abruptly 
his tail popped. like a whip. He looked at us 
with his big brown eyes, with his ears pointed 
forward, in great astonishment. We told him 
that on closer acquaintance we would like each 
other better. 

Here we found Gens. Hood, Forrest, Ross, 
Chalmers and all other Generals who had not 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 



257 



been captured making a desperate effort to rally 
the ^^ people," but they would walk around 




Hood and all the other big officers just as if 
they had been common mortals. A great big 



17 



25d UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

fine-looking young fellow on Forrest's staff 
charged up horseback, with a bright, shining 
ivory-handled pistol in hand, to where the 
writer and his mule were, and demanded in 
tones of authority, ''"What in mischief are you 
doing here?" We caught his eye, and pointing 
to the men throwing away their guns and run- 
ning for dear life, says we, '' Do you see 
those people?" He looked and said, ''Yes." 
" Well, me and this mule are just like them — 
whipped and tempestuously demoralized, and 
are trying to get away." We saw a big smile 
spread over his face, and with a twinkle in 
his big blue eye he said, *' Hold on to 
your mule." We assured him that nothing 
short of death in the pot could separate us. 
Now, this may be regarded by some as rather a 
compromising position or condition for an Act- 
ing Assistant Adjutant-General in the Rebel^ 
army to be found in, but as we started out in 
these reminiscences to keep in the neighborhood 
of the truth, we let it come cold and pure when 
we do say anything. However, the reader must 
bear in mind that we are not telling all we know. 
Pretty soon the remnant of Granbury's brig- 
ade came up. By this time the idea of mak- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 259 

ing a stand at Brentwood had been abandoned, 
and the boys were walking like they had a 
thirty days' furlough in their pockets and 
were bound for home. The fact is, Hood's 
army, except Ector's Texas brigade and the 
cavalry, was merely an armed mob ; and the 
reason of the morale of Ector's men being worth 
anything was because it had been guard for the 
pontoon train, and missed the great battles of 
Franklin and JS'ashville. Every fellow seemed 
to think he was his own commander now, and 
marched to suit his own notion — one, two, three 
and a dozen, in a bunch. We kept no company 
that night except that of our mule. On we 
went, but could find no good place to stop. 
After a while we came to Franklin. We crossed 
the creek, passed on through the city, by the 
battle ground, and away out south of the city 
found a battery camped. We slid down off our 
mule, tied him, spread our blankets, crawled 
under a caisson and fell asleep. When we awoke 
the next morning we found it to be Douglas's 
Texas battery. The boys were not long in rust- 
ling up a pair of bits and cotton rope enough to 
make us a bridle. Hard by was a farm-house, 
but the people were off somewhere South for 



260 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

their health, or up ]N^orth inspectmg prisons and 
rations. Anyway there was no one at home, 
and we borrowed a saddle we fonnd sitting on 
the porch. We now had a bridle, saddle, 
blanket and mule, and about 100 miles of good 
running ground between us and the Tennessee 
river, with about 150,000 wild and wooly Yan- 
kees trying their dead level best to catch us, 
and Gen. Grant never threw his leg across the 
back of Egypt, or Gen. Lee his across that of 
Traveler, when either felt prouder than the 
writer did Avhen he got on to the hurricane deck 
of that mule, with his business end towards the 
Yankees and head pointing dow^i the big road 
towards the lower lands of Dixie. Here is an- 
other point where w^e jDaused long enough to 
jaculate. ''You can bet yer high ocean 
wave!" we felt primin' good. We rode 
leisurely along, waiting for our foot " people," 
having no other thought than that they 
were many miles in our rear, when it is a 
gospel truth that they had walked four miles 
further than we had ridden the night before. 
When ' ' Kicking Jim ' ' and ' ' me " got to 
where the boys were they gave us a grand 
reception. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 261 

By this time a cold, damp-sort of rain had 
set in from the east, and it poured down just 
like it knows how to pour over there in Tennes- 
see, and three great armies, with all their trans- 
portation, having marched over the pike inside 
of a month, is a sufficient guarantee of its being 
in a wretched condition; and oh, how horse 
flesh, mule flesh and human flesh did suffer! 
Our teams were very poor and our men were 
poorly clad. We saw men marching in that 
slush and ice with their feet as bare as the 
the naked truth, and men wounded and on 
crutches trying to make their way south ; and 
the Yankees seemed to think that the safety 
of the government at Washington, and that the 
liberty of speech and freedom of the press 
might remain upon earth, depended on their 
keeping us on the run night and day. On the 
high hifls south of a creek, about four miles 
north of Columbia, we made a stand. By this 
time we had somewhat recovered, and we gave 
them a fight that convinced them there was a 
good deal more to be done beside catching us. 
But there were so many of them they soon 
flanked our position and sent a galling fire right 
down our line. This was more than human 



262 UNWRITTEN HISTOBY OF THE 

nature could endure, especially when our feel- 
ings were all broken up and we were on a dead 
run for a safe place. Our line began to break? 
when that brave officer, Capt. Ben Tyus, of 
Corsicana, said: '^Lieutenant, rally the men." 
We moved around and said all we could under 
the circun stances, for to tell the whole truth, 
we were glad to see the men leaving, for in a 
half an hour longer we would have been billed 
for a northern prison. In our slashing around 
trying to rally the men we found Curg Smith, 
now of Denton, standing at the bottom of a 
sink-hole at least twenty feet below the surface 
of the surrounding grounds. We commanded 
him to come out and get in line. He looked 
up, and his eyes looked more like two recently 
washed big turnips on a black stump than any- 
thing we could then or can now compare them 
to. Pretty soon we were all on the move, and 
besides being very anxious about our safety, we 
were marching through a cold rain, the drops 
of which emphasized their striking us as if they 
had been so many drops of burning grease. 
About dark we arrived at the pontoons across 
the river, near Columbia. It was here Gens. 
Cheatham and Forrest passed some hot, unlady- 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 263 

like words about whose corps should cross first. 
Our recollection is that Cheatham gave way. 
We crossed over and camped in the beautiful 
city of Columba, using yard-fences, shade-trees, 
or anything else we could lay our hands on to 
build fires to keep us from freezing. 




264 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

THE RETREAT ATTENDED WITH MANY HARD- 
SHIPS — WAYNE COUNTY, TENNESSEE — GEN. 
CHEATHAM HAS FISTICUFFS WITH A PRIVATE 
SOLDIER — CROSSED THE TENNESSEE RIVER — 
A FEW DAYS AT CORINTH, MISSISSIPPI — AT 
TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI — ORDERED TO NORTH 
CAROLINA — THE BOYS DO UP MONTGOMERY, 
ALABAMA, ON THE WAY. 

The morning of the 17th opened up freezing, 
cold and clear. The next stand we made was 
at Pulaski, Tennessee, the home of that great 
general, polished gentleman, and successful rail- 
road man, John C. Brown. We remained here 
a part of one evening, one night, and until about 
10 o'clock the next day. We were now ap- 
proaching that part of Tennessee — '' Wayne " 
and some other counties — where bushwhackers 
did much abound, and hatred for the Southern 
Confederacy did much more abound ; therefore 
we did not forage around loose over the country 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 265 

much, but kept pretty well together, and m the 
middle of the road. The earth was frozen as 
hard as a buck's horn, which made traveling a 
little better. However, our poor teams were 
continually stalling in that mountain country. 
We remember on one occasion when a commis- 
sary wagon was stuck tight and fast, Gen. 
Cheatham came riding along and took in the 
situation, and as he lit from his horse he said, 
'' Here, boys, let's roll her out; our grub is in 
this wagon," and suiting his action to the word 
he put his shoulder to a wheel and lifted until 
his face was as red as the flannel lining of 
his gray overcoat. About this time a long, 
hungiy-looking, sad-eyed Confederate, like 
the high priest, '' passed by on the other 
side," as good as to say, '^If you want that 
wagon out get it out the best way you can. 
I am too busy now pulling my own freight to 
the other side of the turbulent waters of the big 
Tennessee, to spare the time to monkey with a 
wagon stuck in the mud." This was too much 
for impetuous Cheatham. He grabbed a camp 
kettle from the feed box and struck the fellow 
flat between the shoulders with it. The lick 
could have been heard half a mile. The fellow 



266 UNWRITTEN HISTOaY OF THE 

took it good-naturedly. We enjoyed the show 
as "' Kickhig Jim and me " viewed it from a safe 
distance on the hill- side. 

On the 24th we arrived in the neighborhood 
of a small burg on the Tennessee river called 
Bainbridge. Here we formed a line to fight the 
Yankees at least hard enough to keep them 
back until the pontoons could be laid across the 
river, and the securely laying of those pontoons 
across that great river, right on the Mussel 
Shoals, where the waters were rushing and 
bounding, causing each bridge to buck and 
hump itself like a Texas mustang, was a feat in 
civil engineering or bridge building that the 
school-boys will read about many years after the 
Confederates are all gone and say, " Well, this 
knocks the socks from Caesar's bridge across 
the Ehine." 

On Christmas morning while it was yet dark 
we crossed over, and when we struck the high 
hills on the south side we looked across at the hills 
beyond and said to ourselves, ''Tennessee, good- 
bye, we like ye, because it was in your borders 
our sweet blue eyes first saw light, and feasted 
upon the magnificent beauties of the far away 
Blue Kidge ; and besides all this, thou art the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 267 

Volunteer State, the abiding place of Robertson 
County whisky, and the home of Andy Johnson 
and Bill Brownlow." While we were in the 
midst of these pious, soothing* sort of private, 
home-made reflections, boom, boom, goes the 
big guns on an ugly Yankee gunboat down at 
the foot of the shoals, as good as to say, '' If I 
could only climb these shoals." 

Right here we pause, fill our pow^hattan with 
Duke's mixture, touch a match thereto, and 
lean back in our easy chair, and remark in as 
near our own language as we know how, ''You 
can bet your other high ocean wave ' ' that we 
felt a good deal better. 

That day we arrived at the city with the big 
spring, Tuscumbia, Ala., the home of the father 
of our first Brigadier-General, Deshler. Our 
brigade was detailed to do provost-guard duty 
for the city, and not many hours had passed 
before the boys had a bountiful supply of pork 
on hand. We were too old a soldier to make 
any inquiry as to where they got it. This was 
the first of this kind of duty we had ever struck, 
and though the city was a mere mock of its 
former beauty and greatness, and the country 
around as lean as a summer coon, so far as being 



268 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

good foraging grounds was concerned, yet we 
enjoyed this service. 

About the 5th of January, 1865, we were 
moved down to Corinth, Mississippi. The 
country from Tuscumbia to Corinth had been 
the raiding grounds for both armies from the 
early days of the war, and it was the most 
dreary, barren, wasted, God-forsaken looking 
country we have ever seen. The few people 
remaining in it seemed as a rule to hate a Con- 
federate soldier about as bad as they did a 
Federal. The country could not have looked 
in much worse plight had it been subjected to 
so many raids by wild Comanche Indians, and 
when we arrived at the city of Corinth there 
was nothing to be seen there that was encour- 
aainof. Even the women had so far fell from 
their patriotism of the earlier days of the war 
that they 'Met up " on shaking white handker- 
chiefs at us, as much as to say " We wish you 
Godspeed." The armies of Sidney Johnston, 
Grant, Beauregard, Buel, Price, Grierson, 
Forrest, Van Dorn, and last of all. Hood's 
broken army, were there, and the people had 
seen to their fill the empty foolishness of the 
so-called ''pomp and circumstance of glorious 
war." 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 269 

We are now within four months of the last 
days of the Confederacy, and as we approach 
these sacred precincts we remove the shoes from 
our feet and with uncovered head walk the cor- 
ridors of the charnel house of the buried hopes 
of four million people, whose deeds of heroism 
and matchless powers of endurance will live 
in history, poetry and song when the wings 
of time shall have grown weary from the 
flight of centuries. But in giving a history of 
the reckless deeds of those of our army whose 
hopes had been changed by the fortunes of war 
to desperation, we shall continue to walk in the 
middle of the road, and give as true a statement 
as possible of the incidents as printed on the 
pages of memory quite thirty years ago. 

One cold morning about the 20th of January 
our army was out on the move for Tupelo, 
Miss., the infantry marching on the railroad, 
and those on horse or mule back traveling the 
dirt road. Kicking Jim came in good play 
now because the boots that Mr. Culberson gave 
us away back yonder at Nashville had quite 
ruined one of our feet. They were about three 
sizes too large, made of half tanned leather, and 
as impervious to water and grease as a cow's 



270 UNWRITTEN HISTORY* OF THE 

horn. A wrinkle in them had eaten a hole on 
top of our right foot. It poisoned and inflamed 
a place about the size of a silver dollar, with 
a dark gristle place in the center. We cut a 
round hole in the boot to fit it, and when we 
mounted our mule the boys wrapped our foot 
and leg up as best they could with pieces of 
blanket. Capt. Tom Kemp, of the 7th Texas, 
and the writer were traveling together. About 
two o'clock in the afternoon w^e stopped at an 
old-fashioned double log house with a hall 
between, to w^arm. While here the writer 
had a chill and high fever, all from the pain 
in our foot. The big, fat, blue-eyed, motherly 
lady of the house insisted that she untie our 
bandages and do something for it. We 
were very positive in our objections to her 
meddling with it, because of being ashamed 
for her to see our dirty foot and the remnant of 
a pair of socks we had on. Her good husband 
came in pretty soon and they prevailed, and 
when they unwound the rags down to our boot 
they found that it had swollen until the affected 
part protruded at least half an inch through the 
hole already referred to. The good farmer with 
his knife cut the boot off, and in less time than 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 271 

we have been writing the last ten lines, our foot 
and ankle had swollen to frightful propoi'tions, 
Avas in a high state of inflammation, and the 
outlook was indeed flattering for us to lose a leg, 
if not our life. The good woman laid a big 
pillow on a chair and our foot on it, and after a 
free application of warm water and soap with 
her own hands, she made the biggest slippery 
elm poultice we ever saw and wrapped the foot 
and leg in it, and then stowed us away in a good 
bed and tucked the cover about us as only a 
woman can ; and notwithstanding the condition 
of our foot, we felt like we didn't want to be 
disturbed for the next 300 years. 

About nine in the morning she awoke us, and 
upon removing the poultice we found the inflam- 
mation all gone, and our foot and ankle '' swunk 
up," until they had the appearance of having at 
least two yards more skin than was necessary. 
We have been thus particular in describing this 
incident in order that boys and young men may 
read it and to some degree appreciate the fact 
that God has scattered mothers, fathers and 
sisters all over the world. We have found them 
everywhere. We were able to resume our journey 
that evening, and reached our command the 



272 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

next day, camped about a mile west of Tupelo. 
While here the writer made his maiden effort as 
an Adjutant-General on the report of the doings 
of Granbury's brigade in the Tennessee cam- 
paign. "We wrote it on yellow paper with a 
poor pen and very lean ink. It may be on file 
with other Confederate documents at Washing- 
ton, who knows? 

It was here the boys went en masse to Gen. 
Dick Taylor's headquarters and demanded that 
a reasonable number of men whose homes were 
west of the Mississippi be permitted to go home 
on short furloughs. The request was granted. 
They drew lots and every fifth man went home. 

Tupelo and the country around it, like 
Corinth, bore the marks of fire and sword. 
Great farms had gone to ruin, and fine mansions 
whei-e youth, beauty and wit used to meet and 
''Chase the glowing hours with flying feet," 
were now the abode of owls, bats and hobgob- 
lins. 

But we must move on. January 26th the 
remnant of the once proud and great army of 
Tennessee were put on box cars and flat cars 
and started for North Carolina. The roads 
were in bad shape, and it was some time in the 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 273 

night of the 28th when we reached Mobile, 
Alabama. 

Reverses in recent battles, hardships and ex- 
posure, together with the hopelessness of our 
cause, rendered a majority of our soldiers a 
dangerous outfit, and subject to be led on into 
i^eckless excesses when led by shrewd, designing 
men. Mobile escaped being systematically 
prowled because of our arrival there in the 
night time, and put on board a vessel early the 
next morning. The sail up the Tensas river 
was nice indeed. The banks on either side were 
as verdant as in spring time. We quit the boat 
at Tensas landing, and were shipped from there 
to Montgomery, Ala., on the cars. 

We arrived in this fine old city just before 
sunset, and were marched through it to the 
neighborhood of the Atlanta and West Point 
Railway depot. A strong guard was at once 
thrown around our camp, with orders to allow 
no one to go over into the city. This of course 
was the correct thing, but it proved an utter 
failure in results, for as soon as the boys got 
through supper they took their guns and pulled 
out to the city in squads of three, five, and by 
dozens. They ^'had it in," first for the pro- 
is 



274 UNWRITTEN HISTORIT OF THE 

vost guard, hospitals rats and fancy post 
officers, and the city police, and to say the 
boys took charge of the city and run it for 
their own account that night would be put- 
ting it as we saw it. Everybody was in- 
doors that night in Montgomery except those 
mad Confederates, and they were making 
things hum on the outside. The center of at- 
traction was a kind of free-for-all, route step, 
go easy, beer-jerking place called the "Light 
House," located a little way down the river. 
The Arkansas and Texas boys took charge of 
this outfit, music, dance hall and all, and run it 
for all there was in sight. Everything ran very 
smooth and nice until about 10 o'clock, when 
bad Georgia pine-top whisky got into it. Just 
across the street, on the bank of the river, a 
Dutchman had a little grocery store. Some of 
the boys went in to buy his wares, and he made 
the mistake of giving them a dram. They 
soon commenced clerking for him. After a 
while they told him they could run the business 
without him staying up and losing sleep. In 
fact, they told him he would be much safer at 
home with Catherine and the children. The 
Dutchman did not stand upon the order of his 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 275 

going, but went at once. The boys then rolled 
out a barrel of his whisky into a gulch that ran 
off towards the river, set it up on end and 
knocked the head out. The first intimation the 
writer had of what was going on, Lee Kinman, 
from Denton County, came into the dance hall 
and blew his breath in our face. We asked 
him where he got ^'it?" He said: ^' Don't 
ask any fool questions but follow thou me." 
We followed, and when we got there the boys 
were drinking out of the barrel like horses or 
thirsty chickens around a pan of water on a hot 
summer day. We don't know that, all things 
told, a soldier is any more liable to get drunk 
than anybody else, but we do know that if a 
man undertakes to drink whisky out of a barrel 
like a horse does water, he is more liable to 
become slightly off his bearings than if he 
drank from a glass or bottle. We account for 
this strange sort of philosophy on the hypothesis 
that we gauge our drinks by the size of the 
vessel we take them out of. The last we saw 
of the boys and the " female women," they 
were as drunk as lords. Some made it into 
camp that night, some came in in time for roll- 
call after daylight. Some had one eye in a 



276 UNWRITTEN HISTOBY OF THE 

sling and some had two. Some didn't have as 
many ears nor as mnch hair as they took to town 
with. them. The floor of that dance-hall was a 
sight to look at, and the anxiety of Pharaoh to 
get rid of the children of Israel after the ten 
plagues, was as tame as a ^^ summer's day 
dream" compared to the earnestness of the 
citizens of Montgomery to get rid of us, and 
well they might have been, because if those 
demoralized soldiers had met with resistance 
that night there would have been music in the 
air. 




WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 277 



CHAPTEE XXXI. 

FROM MONTGOMERY TO BENTONVILLE, NORTH 
CAROLINA — ON THE WAY THE BOYS '' DO 
up" COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, AND ACT ^' VERY 
UNLADYLIKE ' ' AT FORT VALLEY — GEN. 
JOHNSTON AGAIN IN COMMAND OP THE ARMY 
OF TENNESSEE — THE BOYS CHEER HIM. 

Pretty early the next morning we were put on 
board the cars and started for Columbus, Ga. 
This is another grand old city, and some of the 
boys had little accounts to settle with it, they 
having been there in hospital when the post 
was commanded by a Col. Leon Von Jenkins. 
They had found that there were lots of ' ' good 
picking,'' as they called it, in this city. The 
railroad was in a dreadful condition. We have 
seen the rails and ties go down out of sight into 
the mud and slush as the train would pass over, 
therefore it required the whole day to make the 
run. 

"We arrived at Columbus about dark, and 
doubtless the good people having heard of our 



278 UNWRITTEN HISTOrV OF THE 

conduct at Montgomery, conceived the idea 
that our meanness could be headed off by giving 
us a grand reception. The city seemed to have 
turned out for the occasion its beauty, Avith 
music and oratory. Transparent flags were 
displayed bearing such mottoes as ' ' Welcome 
the Army of Tennessee," " Welcome to the 
Heroes of Chickamauga," '^ Welcome to the 
Brave Defenders of our Homes and Fire-sides." 
They had long tables strung out in the depot, 
loaded from end to end with nice things to eat. 
Men Avere speaking, women were speaking and 
in their sky-rocket oratory they compared us 
dirty rebels to the Roman Legions under J. 
Caesar, when they crossed the Equator ; the 
Old Guard, under ]N^. Bonaparte; the squad that 
cleaned up four million Persians at Marathon ; 
the outfit that went all the way to Egypt with O. 
Caesar and fanned out M. Anthony and Cleo- 
patra; to those foolish felloAVS who didn't know 
what a good pair of legs were made for at Ther- 
mopylae ; to Hector and the Greeks who '^ fit " 
with the Trojans ten years around Troy because 
C. Paris stole Helen, the wife of a petty king 
by the name of Menelaus, and a good deal more 
that we can't remember now, but it all fell as 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 279 

harmless and ineffective on the boys' ears as the 
first half a dozen sermons usnally do on a con- 
gregation at an old-fashioned camp meeting, for 
as fast as they would fill np on cold ham, 
chicken, baked pork, pickles, pies, cake, light 
bread and hot coffee, they would take their 
guns, form into companies and pull out for the 
city. Tlie writer would have doubtless been 
with them, but just as he cleaned the last chicken 
bone and tossed it over his left shoulder, he 
made a break for the car he had been riding in, 
and got a fall that hurt him so bad and made 
him so sick that he threw up a pile of free lunch 
as big as a water bucket. The boys helped us 
to our car, spread our blanket and put us to bed, 
so that we know nothing of what was done ex- 
cept as the boys told us on the way next day, 
and from that we feel safe in saying they did 
the saloons and gambling houses up in an artis- 
tic manner. 

At noon the next day we arrived at a very 
clever little city called Fort Valley, Georgia. 
The good women of the city had turned out in 
force with well filled boxes and baskets to feed 
us. The boys behaved on this occasion very 
well, as a rule, the exception being that some 



280 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

of them took charge of the baskets and acted 
rudely. 

Macon was the next city on our way, and the 
boys ^'had it in " for that in great shape, but our 
train ran through the city at the rate of at least 
forty miles an hour. However, several of the 
boys jumped off as the train was running. We 
arrived at Millidgeville, the then capital of the 
Empire State, some time after dark, and were 
turned loose about a mile from the city in the 
piney woods. The night was dark, damp and 
cold, and the country was barren of anything 
we could turn to account as fuel. The writer 
struck out down a pine ridge in search of some- 
thing, anything, out of which to make a fire. 
After a while we found an old, dark, gloomy 
church, and hard by a graveyard. We ripped 
the palings from the grave3^ard fence until we 
had a bundle about half the size of a bale of cot- 
ton, and with it on our shoulder we started 
back. From where we were we could see a 
flickering light away down yonder in the pine 
thicket. Of course we steered directly for it, 
and walked off into a red clay gulch and fell 
about forty feet. The palings rained down on 
us for half an hour at least. We looked up. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 281 

saw the stars, knew we were not in purga- 
tory, and that the government still lived at 
Richmond. 

Here we struck the line of Sherman's march 
to the sea, and the railroads all being destroyed, 
we had to foot it across the country to a point 
about a half day's run by rail from Augusta. 
The march across Sherman's track will never 
be forgotten by ''we uns " that made it. "We 
have ofttimes heard the expression, " as poor as a 
church mouse," and the scarcity of everything in 
the way of something to eat for man or beast in 
that belt measured up to the full meaning of 
'' poor." The country looked as wild and wierd 
as if the abomination of desolation had waltzed 
through it with fire in one hand, sword in the 
other, hell in its heart and lust in its eye. Every- 
thing was gone, and the tall brick chimneys 
stood cold like Druid sentinels marking the spot 
where the fine old mansions once stood. We had 
no transportation, and each fellow carried his 
clothing, bedding, cooking untensils and rations 
and when it would rain and get our luggage 
well soaked, it was a pretty good load to carry, 
and we would sink into the Georgia clay half 
leg deep ; but we were as hard as pine knots, 
and could stand anything. 



282 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

About the 20th of February we arrived at 
Augusta, Ga., late iu the eveuing. It was here 
the writer paid $75 for a tin cup of sweet milk 
and a dodger of corn bread. By this time the 
boys had cooled off, and were well disposed, as 
a rule. Some of the boys remained in the city 
overnight and worked it pretty well, while the 
bulk of our command crossed over the Savannah 
river on the long bridge, passed through old 
Hamburg, and camped in the " moaning pines" 
on the soil of South Carolina. We have now 
crossed the line of Sherman's march, yet the 
gloom that had settled on the face of all the peo- 
ple, and the evident early demise of our Confed- 
eracy was marked on everything. Even the 
people of South Carolina let up on giving us 
encouragement. Once in a great while, on a 
march through the State, a woman wonld wave 
a white handkerchief at us, which used to cause 
us boys to scream like wild cats and toss our 
gray caps into the air; but misfortunes, mis- 
takes, bad management and the failure of hav- 
ing carried out our first intentions of whipping 
ten to one, and keeping up the lick until we 
had thrashed the United States and the outside 
world thrown in, had caused the '^ rebel yell" 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 283 

to die in our throats, and we would not be com- 
forted, because we had sad eyes, weary legs and 
empty stomachs. Our fare was lean indeed. 
The day we arrived on the banks of the Tiger 
river the writer carried Jim Hardin's gun, am- 
munition and luggage while he would go miles 
out on either side of the road in quest of some- 
thing to eat. Late in the evening he came in, 
not having found a thing. The writer was now 
commanding Company '' B " and had just five 
men in his company, and we all started out on 
a foraging excursion, and the only thing we 
found in all that country was an old sow, soli- 
tary and alone. She was a powerful big frame 
but very poor. We slaughtered her, and after 
taking her hide off, the middlings were about as 
thick and tough as your shoe soles, and had 
about the same amount of grease in them. 
When we put the meat on to fry we would have 
to put on the skillet lid to keep it from jumping 
out. We made supper and breakfast on it, put 
the remainder in a sack, and the boys took turns 
in carrying it until we ate it up. When a fellow 
would get tired you would hear him say, " Here 
Jim, I am tired ; it is your time to carry Grand- 
mother awhile, " and so on. 



284 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

We were now kind of hanging on Sher- 
man's flank, but at a safe distance, for there 
were so few of us that we could not have 
lasted until we were all gone had we got 
in his way. We stopped some days near New- 
berry. While here ]S"ewt Millhollon and the 
writer put in one rainy day foraging. Early in 
the morning we crossed quite a little river, and on 
we went from house to house. Quite all the 
white people had quit the country, leaving the 
negroes in possession. In some instances the 
negroes had moved out the fine furniture of 
their masters into their own houses. We saw a 
fifteen hundred dollar piano sitting in an 8x10 
negro kitchen, and the little darkies playing 
around and on it like monkeys. During the day 
we gathered some half a dozen canteens each, 
of molasses, several bushels of yam potatoes, a 
couple of hams and other truck. We were 
loaded down to the guards, but we could ''tote" 
as much as a mule and travel as far with it in a 
day. ISTight caught us out. It had been rain- 
ing hard all day. It was dark, and we were 
pulling for camps guided by the reflection from 
our camp fires. The river already referred to 
was up booming. We had forgotten all about 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 285 

crossing it, and when we came to it we thought 
it was a big sheet of water in the road, like 
those we had waded. Millhollon walked right 
into it with a bushel of j)otatoes, six canteens of 
molasses, a ham of meat and other truck swing- 
ing around his neck, and but for sticking his 
fingers in the stiff i*ed clay banks and pulling he 
would have gone down to the bottom like a 
chunk of lead. He pulled himself out and re- 
marked : " Why, that is the blasted river we 
crossed this morning." He was thoroughly 
scared ; we could hear the beating of his great, 
good and honest heart as we helped him out. 
We found a bridge and crossed over safely, and 
when we reached camp the boys put in a good 
portion of the remainder of the night cooking 
and eating. 

The next day we were moved out, and 
rounded up next at a pretty little city called 
Chester, S. C, and recollections of this place 
are not as sweet as honey. It was here the 
writer made application at a big fine mansion 
hard by where we were camped, for a dry place 
to sleep his company of five men, and had to 
put ourselves by force into a negro kitchen. 
The cold February rain was falling in torrents, 
and oh, how cold it was ! 



286 UNWRITTEN HISTORt OF THE 

On the morning of March 2nd we were put 
on board the cars and landed at Greensboro, 
N. C, about 2 o'clock on the morning" of the 
3d. The clouds had all gone by, and it was 
cold and crisp now. On the 4th Ave were shipped 
down through the beautiful city of Raleigh to 
Smithfield, in the turpentine region of the 
State. As soon as the train stopped we could 
hear the boom ! boom ! of cannon away off to 
the right down in the swampy, turpentine lagoon 
country about old Benton ville. We knew that 
Johnston and Sherman were at it again. The 
sound was familiar. We arrived on the battle- 
field about 10, a. m., on the 5th of March, and 
as we marched to our place in the line of battle 
we passed near where Gen. Johnston was 
standing, and the boys cheered him lustily — 
the first thing of the kind we had witnessed 
since the beginning of the campaign in Ten- 
nessee under Gen. Hood. 

The main battle of Bentonville had been 
fought the day before our arrival and Johnston 
had set Sherman back on his haunches, and he 
resorted to his old tactics — flanking. 

We walked over the battle field on the 5th, 
and found dead Federals whose knap sacks 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 287 

were filled with that of which they had plun- 
dered the citizens on their march through the 
country. We rememher examining one who had 
his filled with silk dresses, silk stockings, and 
other articles of ladies' apparel. 




288 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 




mff 






WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 289 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

STIRRING DAYS ABOUT BENTONVILLE AND SMITH- 
FIELD, NORTH CAROLINA — REORGANIZATION 
OF THE GR anbury's BRIGADE — THE ARMY 
MOVES WESTWARDS — GRANBURY'S BRIGADE 
FINDS A BARREL OF APPLE BRANDY — ALL 
HANDS AND THE COOK GET ON '' A HIGH 
LOANSOM." 

Under almost any other commander but Gen. 
Joseph E. Johnston, the Confederates at Ben- 
tonville, IST. C, would have become demoralized 
at once ; but the rare exception to the rule was 
to find a man that did not have implicit con- 
fidence in Johnston's ability. His lines here 
were in the shape of a horse shoe, ^vith two 
ugly, muddy, deep creeks in his rear. These 
were spanned by two frail bridges. Sherman 
kept pressing our line all round on the outside. 
About noon on the 6th it began to rain. About 
three o'clock in the afternoon, Gen. Schofield's 
corps of infantry made a desperate effort to 
capture the frail bridge, and thus cut off our 

19 



290 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

only line of retreat towards Smithland and Hal- 
ifax Court House, and would doubtless have 
succeeded but for the gallant conduct of Gen. 
Tom Harrison's brigade of Texas and Arkansas 
cavalry. Here was an instance of cavalry 
charging and driving heavy lines of infantry. 
Granbury's brigade relieved the cavalry. W. 
J. Lacey, of Denton, was in this charge and 
had his horse killed. Gen. Hardee's son, who 
had joined the 11th Texas cavalry, was killed 
here. Later on in the evening our brigade was 
marched across the first bridge and on across the 
second. There were only about 160 of us, but 
each man was a whole column by himself. We 
were strung out about forty feet apart, and went 
to fortifying the deep, coarse sand. We were 
not long in getting pretty good holes in the 
ground. Our line was at right angles to the 
creek, extending from it across the big road, 
over a sandy ridge, to a deep swamp on our 
left. 

The clouds rolled by, the big moon came out, 
and the drops of rain yet on the deep foliage 
around looked like millions of diamonds. We 
slept quite snug that night. 

The morning of the 7th opened as nice and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 291 

bright as it possibly could in that God-forsaken 
country, ^ot a gun to be heard. Everything 
in that deep, wild wood was as quiet as a May 
morning. The boys had hung out their wet 
blankets to dry. The writer walked some yards 
up near the bridge to deposit some higgage in 
an ambulance. All at once a heavy fire of small 
arms broke loose over across the creek. We 
thought it was only the boys discharging their 
wet guns, and we felt fretted at their wasting 
so much good ammunition. All at once here 
comes a company of Confederate cavalry dash- 
ing over the bridge, and on they go on a dead 
run up the big road towards Smithland. The 
road forked right at the bridge, the one turning 
immediately down the creek and the other run- 
ning off towards the east or Virginia. We 
knew at once that those fellows had found 
something over there, and were not riding 
for their health. Our educated military eye 
discovered at once that the bridge had been 
covered about two feet deep with pine tops 
and sand, and that lots of people and things 
had crossed it the night before, and sure 
enough the whole of Johnston's army had 
crossed it that night, passing within 200 yards 



292 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

of US, and we knew nothing about it. The 
Federal infantry came over at once and cut 
our little brigade off, running us into the big 
swamp already named. We all got out and 
struck the big road in squads away on towards 
Smithfield, but we were a sight to behold — all 
covered with that black, murky mud. But we 
were as cheerful as larks, ^^ Johnson was in 
command." We set fire to a lot of those resin- 
bearing pine trees, and were soon warm and 
dry. We all nearly wore ourselves out chewing 
''rosum." It was the first time we had ever 
found it in bewildering profusion, and we just 
chewed like sheep. While in this section our 
gambling went on night and day. Fires made 
of those big, fat pine-knots gave lots of good 
light, and we would sit around on the ground 
in squads of two and four, and stack up our 
Confederate money at poker like lords. Money 
was plentiful, but there was nothing we could 
buy with it. Our rations consisted of bean 
crackers, some bacon, some beef and some corn- 
bread, and not having any soap, and sitting 
around those pine-knot fires, we certainly did 
resemble a lot of Creek Indians going on the 
w^ar-path more than the flower of the southern 
army. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 293 

Gen. Sherman seemed to be content to rest a 
few da^^s on his victories, and slid off down 
towards Goldsboro, while we went into camp 
and reorganized. The 15th Texas Regiment 
was made into two companies. Lient. J. L. 
McCracken, late of Fort Worth, and the writer 
were tendered Captain's commissions. 

The writer declined because he had it in his 
head that he had earned a Colonel's commis- 
sion. The line of promotion having been closed 
against him by reason of his Captain being on 
post duty at Tyler, Texas, and having com- 
manded a company a good share of the time 
for three years, he felt that nothing short of 
three stars on his collar would do. So we made 
application to the Secretary of War at Rich- 
mond for a Colonel's commission for ourself, a 
Lieutenant-Colonel's commission for Cage Har- 
ris, and a Major's commission for Gus Schneid- 
er, of San Antonio, with authority to raise a 
regiment of North Carolina Confederate buck 
negroes. This may seem pretty desperate, but 
we were in desperate circumstances, and were 
in for any port in a storm. 

We would have succeeded in getting the com- 
mission and in raising the regiment but Sherman 



294 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

spat on his hands and commenced pressmg us. 
Lee abandoned Richmond and the Confederate 
government was put on wheels and headed 
towards the setting sun, while Gen. Stoneman 
had crossed the Blue Ridge from Greeneville, 
Tennessee, and was heading us off, while Sher- 
man poked it to us in the rear and flanks. 

Gen. Johnston moved his army leisurely on 
towards the west, up through Raleigh, and 
towards Greensboro. The infantry could have 
marched fifty or sixty miles each day, but the 
bad roads and the poor condition of our teams 
made the getting along with our artillery and 
other trains a very difficult matter. 

On the morning of April 15th we camped on 
a nice piece of woodland somewhere between 
Raleigh and Greensboro, cleared off the grounds 
nicely, stretched our dog tents as if we were 
going to rest quite a while. The writer was 
standing at the head of the street we had 
made by our tents on either side, when he 
noticed a big, handsome, blossom-eyed fellow 
by the name of Maxwell, coming out of the 
pine thicket, carrying a camp kettle. He 
beckoned to us to come. Says he, " Smell in 
the kettle." We smelled. It was about half 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 



295 



full of apple brandy. We turned it np, drank 
as long as we could hold our breath, caught 




it and then drank again. The third breath was 
expended in the question, "Where did you 



296 UNWKITTEN niSTOR¥ OF THE 

find it?" He pointed over towards the pine 
thicket. By this time the boys were going that 
way in crowds. We followed on, of course. 
When we got there the boys had raised the 
forty-gallon barrel of apple brandy from the hole 
in the ground caused by the wind having blown 
a great oak tree up by the roots, and some old 
N^orth Carolina fellow had used it as a grave for 
his pet barrel of brandy, which he was saving 
for his own use when the cruel war should end, 
to be used when the day of rejoicing should 
come when the Southern Confederacy had been 
acknowledged by all the nations of the earth as 
a power that had won its independence by the 
patriotism of its people and the prowess of its 
soldiery in battle, and had demonstrated the fact 
that they were capable of self-government. But 
be all this as it may, we can say with confi- 
dence that few barrels of brandy have ever made 
a more jolly crowd than ours was on that 
occasion. In a very short time the bulk of our 
brigade was ''over there" around that barrel. 
By general consent the writer was appointed to 
issue it out. A faucet was soon made from a 
boot-leg, cut to fit and twisted into the bung- 
hole. Then commenced the drawing of it off in 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 297 

canteens and camp kettles, and each canteen 
must need run too full, and rather than pour it 
out so the stopper would go in we would drink 
it. The truck was so exillerating and self- 
esteem elevating, that it was not long until we 
concluded the service was menial. We resigned 
the position and lit out for the camps. All 
hands got drunk. Even our chaplain, the Rev. 
Hayes, a very excellent man, got as drunk 
as an " Enghsh lord." The effect of the fluid 
extract of apples on the mental and physical 
outfit of the writer was such that he cannot 
keep in the middle of the road in an effort at 
describing what the boys said and done during 
the remainder of that day and night. Our own 
experience is all we can give. 

Along in the afternoon there came a big rain. 
When the big drops commenced striking us we 
looked for our dog tent. Looking with both 
eyes there seemed to be two of them, shut one 
eye, and there would be one tent. With one 
shut, and taking aim with the other, we made a 
dive and went through to our waist at the other 
end. We were too weak in the privilege to get 
out or back and, therefore, just lay there, and the 
hard cold rain pelted us good while we sucked 



298 UNWRITTEN HISTOlit OF THE 

the water from oui- little blonde mustache and 
cooled the fire the apple jack had already set 
up within. 

The next morning we were a hard looking 
set, and for the boys we plead as an excuse for 
this spree the peculiar surroundings. We were 
just at the threshold of the dying days of the 
Confederacy, and we had received that morning 
the news of the assination of President Lincoln 
in Washington by J. Wilks Booth. Eef erring 
to the last named incident it was very natural 
for a large majority of the boys to rejoice at the 
news, while a few wagged their heads and said 
they feared it portended bad luck and hard times 
for the South, and history has demonstrated 
that they were right, for Lincoln was doubtless 
an honest conservative man, and was a greater 
man than the Republican party, and had he 
lived, the reconstruction of the Southern States 
would have been effected without the people of 
the South having to pass through so many years 
of missrule and down right robbery. But 
enough of this ; we must keep our line of un- 
written history. 

While here our very dear friend, our mule, 
'^ Kicking Jim," put in his appearance, having 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 299 

been marched across the country from Tiipalo, 
Miss. Jim looked a good deal worse from wear, 
but was glad to see us. We sold him for $275, 
in new issue Confederate, and then gave the 
|275 for a ]S"o. 12 pair of English jack shoes. 
These shoes like our boots already referred to, 
were history makers and will figure in these 
chapters later on with a pair of home-made 
woolen socks that a Quaker woman gave us. 

Our army seemed to be moving leisurely along. 
We knew nothing of what was going on, the 
boys all seemed to be content to leave the 
management of affairs to Gen. Johnston, but a 
deep feeling seemed to prevail that the days 
were big with events, but we put in all our time 
when not on the march, or out foragingin betting 
at poker, seven-up and chuck-a-luck. 

We had oodles of money, but there was 
nothing in the country it would buy. The only 
thing we found in North Carolina in super- 
abundance that could be had without money or 
price was good " chewing rosum." 



300 UNWRITTEN HISTORt OF THE 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE LAST CONFEDERATE DAYS — SURRENDER 
AT GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA — WE GET 
OUR PAROLE AND ONE SILVER DOLLAR — 
MARCH ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE AND AT 
GREENVILLE, TENENSSEE, THROUGH THE CAMP 
OF 15,000 ENRAGED NEGROES — A DREADFUL 
WRECK ON THE E. T. & V. RY., — NARROW 
ESCAPE. 

About the 25th of April we went into camps 
near Greensboro. By this time the report of 
Lee's army having surrendered to Grant had 
become a settled fact in the minds of all. How- 
ever, the boys were yet content to leave all 
the matter as to what should be done to Gen. 
Johnston. We were ready, to a man, to start 
with him in the desperate undertaking to fight 
our way to the Trans-Mississippi Department, 
but Gen. Johnston was brave enough and good 
enough to do the right thing, and surrender to 
Gen. Sherman on very fair terms. We boys all 
walked up to the place designated, signed some 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 301 

sort of a document, got our parole, and one 
dollar apiece in silver. We were not required 
to stack arms nor to ground our arms in the 
presence of the enemy. The fact is, we did not 
see a Federal soldier during the whole pro- 
ceedings. Many of the boys left their guns in 
the woods where we were camped. The writer 
drove his little Confederate sword out of sight 
into the earth, and it is there yet if some North 
Carolina farmer has not plowed it up. 

The struggle was now over, and we felt 
relieved after so many years, months and days 
of waiting and watching suspense, and early on 
the morning of the 3d of May, we started for 
our homes in the West, a cheerful, light-hearted 
set of soldiers enjoying the consciousness of 
having done our whole duty. 

At Saulsbury we were allowed to elect 
which route we would go home by, the 
southern route, via Atlanta and Vicksburg, 
or across the Blue Ridge to Greenville, Tenn., 
thence by rail to !N^ashville and by boats 
to New Orleans. A large majority of the 
Texas and Arkansas troops elected the north- 
ern route. The writer and his company of 
five were with them. We were permitted to 



302 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 



• 



march at will, but it was understood that we 
keep pretty well together, in order that we might 
draw rations. Greenville, Tenn., we knew, 
was due west from Saulsbury, and at about 
300 miles distance. 

Our road ran up the Cataba river, and through 
a fine country that had not been eaten out by 
soldiers. We traveled in squads of twos, threes, 
fives and dozens, either in the main road, or off 
on either side of it. 

The writer on this three hundred mile walk 
panned with Newt Millhollon. Some days we 
would quit the big road and travel settlement 
roads all day, always keeping our faces towards 
the Avest. Sometimes we w^ould round up with 
the command at night, and sometimes we laid 
out. We fell on this plan to get plenty of grub 
and other things we had been short on for lo 
these many days; and it worked to a queen's 
taste. We would eat from three to eight meals 
a day at the tables of these good North Caro- 
lina people, and it got to be no surprise to us 
to run onto a bountiful supply of moonshine 
whisky. 

On we go, up, up, and up to the top of the 
Blue Kidge, and camp one night in Swananoa^ 



WAE BETWEEN THE STATES. 303 

Gap, right at the headquarters of the classic, 
rushing, bounding, seething, foaming, moun- 
tain-bound and rock-ballasted French Broad 
river. The reader may think we are extrava- 
gant in using so many double-geared, high- 
pressure adjectives in our reference to this river. 
You would change your mind, however, and 
say, go on in the use of them to the end of this 
chapter, if you could only see that wild, woolly, 
weird country, with mountains piled up so high 
that it requires two men to see to the top of them ; 
the French Broad dashing between for forty 
miles, down grade, against, over and around 
rocks as big as the Capitol building at Austin. 
Away up near the head of this river we found 
the beautiful, clean, well-watered city of Ashe- 
ville, and it was here that the writer swallowed 
the first ])itter pill of all the doses we had to 
take in being " reconstructed." 

The city was under martial law, and a regi- 
ment of Federal negroes were on provost duty. 
We soon noticed that the citizens were sly and 
exceedingly cautious in favorably recognizing us 
as we passed along. Out in the western part of 
the city we noticed two elegantly dressed ladies 
standing on the front porch of a nice dwelling 



304 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

some forty yards back from the street. They 
started down the walk so as to be at the gate as 
we passed. We raised om^ cap as one of them 
pi^sented lis a bouquet of flowers as large as a 
dinner bucket, but just as we were putting our 
ex-Confederate hands on it, and our heart was 
nearly jumping out at our mouth, a big, burly 
buck negro stuck his bayonet to our bread 
basket and remarked like one with authority, 
" I guess I'll take dat," and he took it. This 
brought to our eyes the first tears we shed over 
the grave of our buried Confederacy. We soon 
dismissed the matter from our mind, when the 
thought occurred to us, " Guess this is as good 
as you deserve, after three years of making 
trouble Svith the best Government the world 
ever saw.' " 

On we go down the road, overhanging moun- 
tains to our right and the river to our left, now 
and then striking a valley of one, two, three or 
^Ye acres, and apple trees old enough and large 
enough to fill up the whole valley. At last we 
came to Paint Kock. This is a perpendicular 
ledge of limestone, so high that we had to scream 
at the top of our voice to read ''Take Humbolt's 
Buchu," painted in letters near the top. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 305 

Here we quit the river and strung out over 
the hills towards Greeneville, some ten miles or 
more away. We camped early in the afternoon 
some three miles out from the city ; a brass band 
of some thirty pieces commenced playing, and 
people for miles around on those East Tennessee 
knobs came rolling in, men, women and chil- 
dren. Some would draw near, while others, 
fearing some of those big horns might burst, 
remained at a safe distance. 

About 8 o'clock a young, bright Federal lieu- 
tenant came out on horseback to pilot us into 
the city. He marched us through the camps of 
about 15,000 armed negro soldiers. Their now 
uniforms, mounted with all the burnished brass 
they could stick on to them, looked exceedingly 
black, tall and war-like. Their guns, with 
bright, shining bayonets, Avere stacked on each 
side of the road. They gathered in lines just 
back of the guns, and they were mad all over 
through and through, because they believed that 
our little squad of Confederates were individu- 
ally and collectively responsible for the death 
of their temporal savior, Abraham Lincoln. 
For a mile or more we walked the gauntlet 
under every abuse that horde of infuriated 



306 UNWKITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

armed negroes could turn their tongues to and 
heap upon us. Our boys were smart — they 
kept their heads up, eyes to the front, did not 
return a word, and walked in the middle of the 
road. The writer walked near the Federal lieu- 
tenant who had come out to meet and escort us in. 
He rode with his pistol in hand and didn't say a 
word, and his face was as pale as the paper we 
are writing this oUo He evidently appreciated 
the perilous situation we were in. On we go, 
down through the city, right by Andy John- 
son's old tailor shop, and into camp on the 
woodland hills beyond. This was the second 
dose of reconstruction pills. We believed then 
that the plan had been laid to have these infuri- 
ated negroes murder us all, and twenty-seven 
years has not changed our opinion. It could 
have been done and in the then condition of 
mind of the people of the l!forth, they would 
have approved it, as a meet and proper offering to 
the offended gods for the takmg off of President 
Lincoln, a thing with which v/e had no more to 
do than the man in the moon. We give it just 
as it occurred ; be your own judge. 

We remained here two days, but steered 
clear of the city. However, the writer and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 307 

his side partner went to see the home of 
Andy Johnson, and the house where John 
Morgan was betrayed, captured and murdered. 
We .here saw the first negro school taught 
by a woman who was at least white on 
the outside. This we note as reconstruction 
pill "No. 3, and the boys began to get pretty hot 
under the collar, and were not very choice in the 
language they used in expressing their opinions 
of the way the Yankees were doing things, and 
as spies and short-hand reporters were with us 
all the time, noting everything we said, it began 
to look like our chances for going to a northern 
prison were very promising. We were joined 
here by quite a number of western men from 
Lee's army, and by the time we were ready to 
start there were two train loads. While at the 
depot some of the boys went down to the engine 
to take a look at the engineer. When they 
came back their report was : ^' We are going to 
have it to-day, boys." ^' Why?" asked some 
one^ *^Well, Jackie is as drunk as a biled 
owl." We were put in box-cars, improvised 
seats by a plank on blocks down the center, on 
which we sat like chickens on a bean-pole. 
At the signal to start Jackie pulled his steam 



308 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

manipulator out to his full capacity, and our 
train went forward with a bound, while we all 
piled up in the rear end of the car. Pretty soon 
our train, in the lead, was dashing through 
farms, woodlands, deep cuts, over high grades 
and short curves, bouncing on the rough track 
like a bucking mustang pony, and raising 
clouds of dust, and from the hilarity of the boys 
they all seemed to say, " let her go, Gallager." 
There were about as many riding on top as inside 
the cars. The writer was sitting between two 
Federal soldiers, trying to read a new Louisville 
Journal, but the attempt was as much a failure 
as if it had been printed in Egyptian hiero- 
glyphics. All at once we felt an extra shaking 
quiver of the car. We looked out at the side 
door and saw the engine and tender yet on the 
track and going down the road, while the half 
dozen cars ahead of ours were going end over 
end down an embankment. Just at this instant 
our car stopped still. From where we were 
it looked to be a high grade, but as a matter 
of fact, it was the tops of tall trees we were 
looking at instead of the green earth, our 
car having come to a standstill on a bridge 
which was at least seventy-five feet above 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 309 

the bottom of the creek. We made a leap 
for life forward and lit on the bridge, where 
it rested on the stone pier, a Confederate at 
the same time jumped from the top of the car just 
ahead of ours, and struck the writer just as 
we were gathering for the second leap, and 
knocked us back. This steadied us. He missed 
the bridge and went over. We stepped forward 
and saw him as he went down. He lit astride of a 
syacmore sapplingthat had grown so close to the 
pier that it leaned outward, and it let him to the 
ground unhurt. The wreck was a fearful sight. 
After gathering up the wounded and dead we 
found thirteen who had gone through the war, 
and who a little while ago were full of hope and 
joy at the prospects of once again crossing their 
own threshold, and pressing to their hearts the 
loved ones they had left at home. But their 
great good and brave hearts were still in death. 
With the wonderful facilities at the command 
of the Grovernment for handling wrecks, it was 
not over two hours in setting everything to rights 
and on we went. 

About twelve o'clock the next day we ran up 
to a small station called Mouse Creek. Our 
train was yet in front. While the crew were at 



310 unwritte:n" history of the 

dinner we filled our canteens with water and 
about fifty of us got on top of the ear so as to 
get a good view of the country that evening as 
we ran through low East Tennessee. The 
Writer was especially anxious for a look at the 
country, as it was on Mouse Creek he was born 
and lived until about a yard and a half high, 
and we should like to have sJbpped there and 
travel a few days over the hilfe and through the 
valleys where we spent our early boyhood, 
wearing a long tow shirt, and learning war by 
fighting yellow jackets and seed ticks ; but as 
Union bushwhackers were giving afternoon 
matinee, for the benefit of such friends as 
wanted to start new graveyards, and as ex-Con- 
federates were .in pressing demand as subjects, 
we thought that our chances would be better 
with the Comanche Indians as neighbors on the 
frontier of Texas, than near the home of our 
childhood . 




WAil BETWEEN THE STATES. 311 



CHAPTEE XXXiy. 

AlSrOTHER WRECK AT MOUSE CREEK, TENNESSEE 
— A SMASHUP ON THE RAILROAD NEAR TULA- 
HOMA — AT NASHVILLE THE AUTHORITIES 
THREATEN US ^TTH THE PENITENTIARY — ON 
BOARD A BOAT — WE ARRIVE IN NEW ORLEANS 
AND HAVE A ROYAL TIME GENERALLY. 

Standing on that car indulging onrw^ell train- 
ed imagination in these pleasing reflections, the 
whistle of the train in our rear commenced to 
blow, and it kept on blowing. We all knew it 
was running away with the engineer, and it was 
coming down those three miles of down grade 
with a vengeance. Here it came like a living 
monster, wild with rage, and plunged into the 
rear of our train, knocking things into " smith- 
ereens." No one was killed, but several Con- 
federate limbs were broken. 

They were not long in getting things in shape 
again, and on we go, down through Calhoun, 
Charleston, Cleveland, and as we pass through 
Tunnel Hill the shades of night were spreading 



312 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

over the valley of Chattanooga, while the sum- 
mits of Lookout Momitain and Waldron's Ridge 
were tipped with golden sunlight. Our run from 
here to Nashville was made without anything oc- 
curring that was exciting, except when our whole 
train quit the track in a deep cut somewhere be- 
tween Tulahoma and Wartrace. This happened 
in the night-time. Our recollection is no 
one was hurt. The boys by this time were get- 
ting 23retty badly out of humor, and were not 
very choice in the language they used in ex- 
pressing the opinion that the United States were 
trying to kill and cripple by railroad accidents 
those of us who had not fallen in battle ; and 
indeed it did look kind of suspicious. 

While in this sort of humor the boys were 
very extravagant in their description to the Fed- 
erals of what we were going to do for them 
when we got home to Texas and joined Kirby 
Smith. 

The authorities kept shorthand reporters with 
us all the time, noting all these threats. We 
arrived at Nashville about 1 o'clock in the after- 
noon. Here the writer inquired of an old negro 
woman as to what she had in her basket, by 
calling her ^' Aunty." We thought for a time 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 313 

a big buck negro would crawl our hump in spite 
of us, before we could apologize for not calling 
her a " colored lady." This we note as pill No. 
4 in our reconstruction medicine. 

After a little while we were formed in line 
and marched off in an entirely different direction 
to the one in which we expected to go. This cre- 
ated some uneasiness in our minds, and when the 
head of our column bluffed up right at the door 
of the penitentiary, our worst fears were con- 
firmed. The boys looked at the great iron gate, 
the high gray walls, and the sentinels walking 
their posts, but no man said a word. We all 
looked wild and felt weak. 

The silence was broken by Jim Hardin, of 
Wise County, when he blurted out the inquiry, 
" Boys, what in thunder do you reckon all 
this means." At this we commenced gathering 
in squads and talking low, and when a fellow 
would turn and look at those high rock walls the 
white in his eyes seemed to increase in amount 
and the color of blood would leave his face. 
But no man could be found who could or would 
tell us what w^e were there for ; all we could do 
was to judge by appearances, and they held out 
nothing on which we could hang a hope. Every 



314 UNWRITTEN HISTORY *OF THE 

now and then some fellow who had been extra 
loud in his threats as to what he intended to do 
when once in Texas, would say, ' ' Let them bring 
their durned oaths. I'll take all they have got 
of them." To pnt it short they kept us there 
abont two hours in this terrible suspense, but 
it cured the boys of talking too much and loud 
with their mouths, and served to take more of 
the salt, pepper and vinegar out of us than 
almost anything we had struck. 

We were then marched up through the city 
down to the river and on board a steamboat. 
We were as jolly as larks, and hapj^y as big 
sunflowers, not only because we were alive, but 
also at missing such a good opportunity of being- 
put in the Tennessee penitentiary. Pretty soon 
our boat pulled out down the beautiful Cumber- 
land ; this style of traveling was the richest thing 
we had struck. Plenty of good rations, good 
place to sleep, and a fine healthy opportunity to 
play cards, and lay plans for the future for no 
one knows how blank one feels, but a soldier 
who has had his wants provided for for years 
by the strong arm of government, and all at 
once thrown onto his own resources. 

The trip down the Cumberland, the Ohio and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 315 

on the heaving, swelling, palpitating, mnddy 
bosom of the Father of Waters was without 
incident or accident, save a little scrap the writer 
had with a freckled-faced, hamelegged, Federal 
soldier. He was one of the mean kind who was 
fully possessed of the idea that Jeff Davis and all 
our Southern leaders should be hung as high as 
that fellow who was after Mordecai's scalp and 
" failed to cut her," and the common rebel 
soldier should be disfranchised, and his knife 
and tobacco taken away from him. Several of 
us Confederates were lying around on the hur- 
ricane deck, '' sunning," when we foolishly 
allowed ourselves to be led into an argument 
with him, and, as might have been expected, 
the argument waxed not only warm, but got hot, 
hotter, hottest. He made some extravagant 
assertion. We disputed its correctness. He 
came back at us with the lie. We sailed at 
him with our fist, and he at us with a " Charge 
bayonets," and we were glad when the boys 
interfered and prevented him from gigging us 
up and tossing us overboard, which we believe 
was in the heart of the scoundrel to do. We 
were young then, and knew but little of the 
philosophy of controlling our temper. We were 



316 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

wild with rage, and as blind as a rattlesnake in 
August. We went into the cabin, then down 
on deck, and as we stepped over a camp kettle 
the boys had scaffolded upon something in 
which they were boiling beans, we tilted it 
over, filling all the extra space in one of our 
English Jack shoes with thick, boiling soup. 
Our first impulse was to jump overboard into 
the water. The danger of being sucked in 
under the side-wheel of the great steamer took 
that idea out of our head. We sat dowm, untied 
our shoe, and when we removed our thick sock 
the skin from the ''bosom" of our right hind 
leg came with it, even down to the thick skin of 
our heel, and while we w^ere hopping around all 
over the deck, suffering with pain, the engineer 
stepped up and insisted that we put a coat of oil 
and white lead on it, from a bucket hard by. 
We sailed at him for a fight, thinking from the 
blue clothes he had on that he was another mean 
Yankee, and only wished to get us jDoisoned, 
but we have since learned he was right in the 
remedy suggested. We will offer him an apol- 
ogy when we meet on the camping grounds 
beyond. But for that red-headed soldier who 
got us into all this trouble we have no very hard 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 317 

feelings. A quarter of a century has cooled us 
off, and besides, he doubtless belonged to the 
home guard or militia, and thought it smart to 
insult a prisoner. 

At a fort below Memphis our big boat landed 
for coal. While here the negro soldiers came 
down by thousands. We remained on the boat, 
but the negroes seemed very much out of humor, 
and said a great many hard things to us. We 
felt pretty safe, and held our own with them 
pretty well. 

While at Memphis all the Arkansas troops 
got off. The parting was pretty trying. We 
had been together in the same division, " fought 
in the same field; slept in the same tents," in 
all the campaigns of the Army of Tennessee. 

The next landing was at the mouth of Eed 
River. Here all the East Texas boys changed 
boats for Shreveport and Jefferson. 

Our next landing was at New Orleans. We 
were marched out into the city and halted on 
Canal street, near the Clay monument. In this 
grand old city we struck in rich profusion 
everything that enters into the list of a soldiers' 
living, that makes him happy and at peace with 
all the world. 



318 UNWRITTEN HISTOR^ OF THE 

By this time our numbers were reduced to 
about one hundred and fifty. While we were 
awaiting orders, a smart, slick Scotchman 
by the name of Jim Walker, who belonged 
to our outfit, made some sort of a dicker 
with a big Scotch restaurant keeper hard 
by to feed us. The eatables and drinkables 
were simply royal in quality and quantity. 
Later in the evening we were put on the march 
down toward the French quarter of the city. 
The WTiter, because of his lame foot, fell behind. 
A Frenchman by the name of Yinette stepped 
up and said, " Hello, my good fellow, you seem 
to be having a rough time of it. Put your arm 
around my neck, and I will be your ' crutch ' 
until you get to your quarters." And by ttie 
time we got there the Frenchman and the writer 
were staunch friends. There seemed to be 
a natural afiinity between us, and before 
bidding us good evening he invited us to 
come up to his house, which was only about 
four blocks away, and take coffee with him 
the next morning. We were quartered in 
the second story of a large brick, a very nice 
place. We had not been there an hour until the 
women, God bless them ! commenced coming in 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 319 

with })askets filled with clothing and good things 
to eat, and by noon the next day you would 
have had to draw a fine bead on your own mess- 
mate to determine who he was. The boys were 
all dressed up, shaved, had their hair cut, and 
were shampooed until they did not look like the 
same fellows. 

We kept our promise, and went to see our 
Frenchman ; and when we entered his door the 
big, broad sheen of sunlight on the face of his 
fat blue-eyed jolly American wife made us feel 
at once that we were at home, and had found 
another one of the mothers God has located in 
so many places on this beautiful earth. In 
her sweet presence we felt at perfect ease. 

A Frenchman's coffee means something good 
for breakfast, and for their nice attentions we 
have been wearing Vinette and his^'gude" 
wife in our heart of hearts as jewels all these 
long years. Should these lines fall under their 
eyes, we tender them our heartfelt thanks, and 
should they not, we will make it all right 
" when life's fitful fever's over," and we meet 
in the " City beyond." 

On our way back we passed a big grocery 
concern. The proprietor insisted that we come 



320 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

in, remarking that he " had something inside." 
He piled quite a lot of hams, canned goods, 
sugar, coffee, etc., on the counter. We thought 
he knew that we were there a paroled prisoner, 
out of money, and not able to buy a breakfast, 
and that he was poking fun at us. We were 
not long in telling him that nothing but our 
lame leg kept us from giving him a genteel 
thrashing for thus insulting us. We felt 
ashamed when the good man told us that he 
intended to give it all to us, not as a matter of 
charity, but he felt that he was due ns every 
kind treatment at his command, because we had 
" borne the heat and burden of the day," while 
he remained at home and made money. We 
were good friends from that time on. Come to 
find out, the people of 'New Orleans had opened 
their doors to us, and we were their royal guests. 
Barber shops, street cars and everything else 
was ours to use at will and pleasure. 

About 2 o'clock in the afternoon finely-dressed 
ladies commenced coming into our quarters. 
About every fourth Confederate could play 
some on the violin. We soon had all the instru- 
ments needed and then commenced the dancing, 
old-fashioned, new-fashioned and fancy. The 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 



321 



boys of the 6th Texas were from Matagorda. 
They, with a few San Antonio fellows of the 
15th, could do all the round dancing, while we 
grass-fed North Texas fellows were knocking 
the living daylights out of an old Virginia reel. 
The weather was warm, and the way the boys 
did drink ice lemonade, dance, sweat and smell 
sweet, was making up for lost time. This was 
part of the programme each day from 2 till 9, 
p. m., when the negro guard would ''pipe" 
lights out and '' us in." 




21 



322 UNWRITTEN HISTORY 'OF THE 



CHAPTEE XXXV, 

INTRODUCED INTO THE FAMILY OF DR. HAMIL- 
TON — FIND OUR OLD FRIEND DAN m'GARY — 
EAT A FINE DINNER UNDER VERY EMBARRASS- 
ING CIRCUMSTANCES — THE TRIP OVER TO 
GALVESTON AND HOUSTON — AT HOME AGAIN. 

Through our friend Vinette a party of us, 
consistmg of Col. W. A. Ryan of Austin, 
Maj. J. A. Farmwalt of Granbury, Lieuts. 
Mark Kelton of Galveston, Chase of George- 
town, and the writer, were introduced into the 
family of Dr. Hamilton, a very wealthy man. 
The family consisted of the doctor, his wife, 
and two charming daughters. Miss Sallie and 
Miss Mary, living in a fine old mansion, fur- 
nished in royal English style. Of course w^e 
went. We were ushered into the doctor's pri- 
vate parlor, or more properly speaking, his 
private sideboard or saloon, for it came as near 
being a completely furnished, elegantly fitted up 
little saloon as anything else, for in the way of 
good things to drink and smoke it was a dandy. 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 323 

The first thing the Doctor did was to " set 'em 
up," and when we threw our head back and 
opened our shoulders to let the oily old whisky 
run down, with our eyes " pointed" skywards, 
what do you think we saw? Why it was noth- 
ing more nor less than a great big, silk, sure 
enough silk, Confederate flag, tacked overhead 
to the ceiling. Just at this time in came his 
good wife and two pretty daughters. We were 
introduced and the show went on. 

The Doctor, of course, was master of cere- 
monies and would suggest a toast before each 
drink, naming the speaker. Drinks were in 
order at the conclusion of each game of euchre. 
The writer did not feel at perfect ease. Being 
quite a young man, and having been raised on 
the frontier of Texas, it was the first thing of 
the kind he had struck, and therefore he kept 
himself in the background as much as possible. 
After about the fourth round at the sideboard 
we were sitting on a big lounge, when Miss 
Sallie slung herself down by our side, almost 
covering us up with her breezy dress, furbelows 
and flounces, causing our heart to bounce up 
into our neck, almost choking us. We swal- 
lowed it back and repHed to the shower of ques- 



324 UNWRITTEN HISTORY- OF THE 

tions she rained at us the best we could. We 
were very uneasy for a while for fear some of 
the things we felt crawling under our shirt 
would get on her, but after one more toast we 
felt like the negro did when the white man 
asked him to take a drink with him, ''If 
you can stand it I can," so we sailed in and 
told her " of moving accidents by flood and 
field, of hair-breadth 'scapes in the imminent 
deadly breach, of being taken by the inso- 
lent foe and put in prison, of ray redemption 
thence, and with it all my travel's history. 
These things to hear did Miss Sallie seriously 
incline, and bade me if I had a friend that loved 
her I should but teach him how to tell my story, 
and that alone would woo her." 

By this time we were full of joy, but the hour 
was late and we must needs go. When we 
returned to our quarters who and what do you 
think we found? A dispatch announcing the 
fact England had acknoAvledged the independ- 
ence of the Southern Confederacy? No. That 
Lee had whipped them again in Virginia? No. 
That the Yankees were not going to send any 
scallawags and carpet-baggers down South to 
eat up the substance of our people? No, not 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 325 

that by a brutal Democratic majority. But it 
was our old friend in the early days of the war, 
Dan McGary, now of the Houston Evening- 
Age, the only Simon-pure Democratic paper in 
the world. He had laid a door shutter on two 
barrels, spread his blanket thereon, and was 
lying sound asleep, with his Dan Webster face 
being kissed all over by the soft silver rays of a 
Southern moon. We awakened him and asked 
him what he was doing there? He said that 
the war in the Trans-Mississippi Department 
was too tame for his blood, and that in an 
effort to get east of the great river where he 
could share and share alike with the boys in the 
'^ pomp and circumstance of glorious war," the 
Yankees had picked him up, and what there 
was left of him was there. 

Dan was not a graceful figure in the whirl 
and bewildering mazes of our afternoon dances, 
but when it came to swinging those pretty, 
dreamy Creole girls, he was a column of his 
own height, and a whole brigade from ''who 
laid the chunks? " 

Our days in New Orleans were full of pleas- 
ure. Our circle of acquaintances widened every 
day. Business in the great city was booming, 



326 UNWRITTEN HISTORY. OF THE 

and all the boys were tendered positions in dry 
goods, grocery, commission or banking houses. 
We were exceedingly popular with all classes, 
and all the boys had sweethearts. 

Dr. Hamilton had made the writer a present 
of a nice hat, coat, pants, boiled shirt, clean 
socks and some pocket change. One day 
Prof. Chase, the leader of our band, and the 
writer were invited to dinner, at the Doc- 
tor's. We went down quite early after break- 
fast. On our way there lived a rebel barber 
who insisted every time we passed his place that 
we drop in and let him ^x us up. On this oc- 
casion we were quite anxious that he make all the 
improvement in our appearance possible, as we 
were going to spend the day with our best girl. 
Miss Sallie. He made our hair as stiff as a 
board and as black as a crow with some sort of 
cosmetic, while our little blonde mustache was 
twisted into horns as sharp if not as stiff as a 
rat-tail file. When we arrived at the Doctor's 
Miss Sallie answered the bell and went with us 
into the parlor. Chase went to the big, fine 
piano, while Miss Sallie and '^ us " stowed our- 
selves away in a big bay window. She laid a 
pillow on a chair and our burnt foot on it,' 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 327 

and while Chase played she fanned our foot, and 
the courting went on. Pretty soon Chase took 
French leave and left Miss Sallie and the writer 
alone together, and how w^e did court, and 
chat of the nice time w^e would have in the 
sweet bye-and-bye. 

Away along in the evening, nearly the time 
when we had been used to having supper, 
dinner, was announced. We felt a little 
nervous when we entered the fine dining 
room, and onr military eye flashed on the flne 
table furniture. Having been i*aised on the 
frontier of Texas, it was but natural for us to 
feel " out of whack" in the presence of so much 
finery and so many things to eat. Miss Sallie 
occupied a seat to our right, the Doctor at the 
head of the table, his wife at the foot, and 
Miss Mary just across the table from us. We 
wei-e helped first to soup and fish. This we 
cleaned up as quick as a litter of hound pups 
could have done it. The doctor next loaded our 
plate with fish, flesh and fowl. This disappeared 
as mysteriously as the other. He loaded it the 
second time, and it went the way of all the earth. 
By this time we were right on the frontier of 
the province of pastr3^ We sailed into it with 



328 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

^^ letters of marque and reprisal" and hauled 
into port all that was put in our reach. All at 
once our stomach, which we thought was like a 
sink-hole, and could not be filled, sounded 
the alarm, and said it could not and would 
not hold any more and there was no use 
sending- any more down. "We felt full. The 
big" veins in our neck swelled up, and great 
drops of sweat trickled down our back. The 
Doctor now inquired as to our favorite wine, 
and we didn't know the name of a single brand. 
He noticed our confusion, and suggested his 
choice. This of course we dropped on as ours. 
He emptied about half a bottle into a big gob- 
let that was about half full of chipped ice and 
passed it over to us, and we gulped it down, 
wine, ice and all. This put us to sweating in 
good shape. We could feel the sweat running 
in great drops down our back and down the 
sides of our face, and as we knew the French cos- 
metic was making black streaks, we per- 
spired the more. What to do was the ques- 
tion of great pith and moment. We had no 
handkerchief, and it was the first time we had 
ever struck a napkin, especially with a silver 
ring around its waist. There it lay. We looked 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 



329 



at it and then at Miss Sallie, Finally we made 
a dive for it, skinned the ring off and gave onr 




face and neck a thorough rubbing, and then 
slyly laid it down on our lap. It was as black 
as our new cloth pants. We owned up that 



330 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE 

we had all the dinner we wanted, that a 
June day in New Orleans was too hot for 
us to eat much, anyhow, and if the Doctor 
would excuse us we would get out where 
the fresh air could strike us. Miss Sal lie 
went with us to the parlor. "We told her 
we had not been used to all that sort of fine fix- 
ings ; that out in Texas we did not sit and eat 
for two hours, nor did we starve ourselves until 
six o'clock in the evening and call the meal din- 
ner, but that we twisted our wheat dough around 
a stick, held it over the fire, with our beef on 
another stick, and then ate as we ran. 

Miss Sallie and the other members of the 
family seemed to like us more because of our 
honest simplicity than anything else ; anyway 
these wild breaks did not '^ break any squares" 
between Miss Sallie and us, and we were a reg- 
ular visitor at her house twice every day from 
that time until word was received that Gen. E. 
Kirby Smith and the other boys had quit 
making trouble with the " best government the 
world ever saw.'' But they never succeeded in 
roping us into another state dinner. 

When we left there about the 10th of June, a 
good many of the boys' sweethearts went with 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 331 

them down to the steamer on which we were 
shipped to Galveston. On the way aronnd on 
the Gnlf we struck quite a storm, at least it 
seemed so to us land-lubbers. Dan McGary 
and the writer had a berth on the hurricane 
deck, between Texas and the wheel house, and 
as the great steamer would rock from side to 
side we would slide from Texas down to the 
wheel house and from the wheel house back to 
Texas. As we would make these gyrations we 
would hold to Dan's big ears. He had a pair 
as large as W. G. Brownlow, of Tennessee, 
used to support. 

We landed in Galveston about the 12th, and 
were shipped by rail to Houston the same day. 
At Houston the ladies gave us a fine supper. 
The Grand Lodge of Masons was in session, 
and all the boys who were Masons were invited 
to seats in the Grand Lodge. Here we met 
several old friends, among them W. G. Veal of 
Fort Worth, and W. O. O. Stanfield, of Wise 
County. The latter furnished us a seat in his 
buggy, and we traveled with him from Miliken, 
then the terminus of the H. and T. C. Rail- 
way, to Decatur, where we arrived on the 
25th day of June, 1865, having served in the 



332 UNWRITTEN HISTORY .OF THE 

Rebel army three years, three months and 
twenty-five days. 

It is all over now, and the scenes of those 
stirring days have gone glimmering like the 
" tale of an hour," a " story that is told, " or a 
school-boy' s dream. And while many good men 
lost their lives, logic is with ns when we say a 
great sin had been committed, and " without 
the shedding of blood there is no remission of 
sin. " And when a few more fleeting years 
have swept by, all the actors in this great drama 
will have joined the silent majority. And when 
the thunder tones of the last trump shall shake 
the hills, rock-ribbed and ancient, the blue and 
the gray will wake up from the fields of Manassas 
and Murf reesborough , Chickamauga and Get- 
tysburg, Shiloh and Petersburg, JS'ashville 
and Sharpsburg, Atlanta and Seven Pines, Jones- 
boro and Arkansaw Post, Oak Hill and Frank- 
lin, Pea Ridge and Fort Donaldson, Belmont 
and Fishing Creek, New Hope Church and 
Chattanooga, Mansfield and Bentonville, and 
with Generals Lee and Grant, Sheridan and 
Stuart, Hancock and Hood, Johnston and Sher- 
man, Kirby Smith and Banks, Thomas and 
Taylor, Bragg and Rosecrans, Brown and 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 333 

Hooker, Buriisides and Bate, Ross and Rosseau, 
Longstreet and Franklin, Hill and Howard, 
Hardee and McPherson, Cheatham and Curtis, 
Pemberton and Porter, Custer and Fitzhugh 
Lee, Semmes and Farragut, Maury and Wain- 
wright, all, all in bright uniforms, will strike 
hands in friendship on the beautiful shores 
of the ^Mand o' the leal," where fellowship 
will be complete, and love and allegiance 
by all to one great head is based in the univer- 
sal fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of 
man, and we will learn war no more forever. 

And the heroic verse of the sainted Father 
Ryan, priest and poet, will be set to the music 
of the spheres : 

Furl that banner, for 'tis weary, 
Round its staff 'tis drooping dreary; 

Furl it, fold it, it is best : 
For there's not a man to wave it, 
And there's not a sword to save it, 
And there's not one left to lave it 
In the blood which heroes gave it, 
And its foes now scorn and brave it — 

Furl it, hide it, let it rest. 

Take the banner down — 'tis tattered, 
Broken is its staff and shattered. 



334 UNWRITTEN HISTORY 'OF THE 

And the valiant hosts are scattered 

Over whom it floated high. 
Oh ! 'tis hard for us to fold it, 
Hard to think there's none to hold it, 
Hard that those who once unrolled it 
Now must furl it with a sigh. 

Furl that banner, furl it sadly — 
Once ten thousand hailed it gladly, 
And ten thousand wildly, madly, 

Swore it should forever wave. 
Swore that foeman's sword could never 
Hearts like theirs entwined dissever, 
Till that flag would float forever 

O'er their freedom or their grave. 

Furl it, for the hands that grasped it, 
And the hearts that fondly clasped it, 

Cold and dead are lying low, 
And the banner it is traihng, 
While around it sounds the wailing 

Of its people in their woe. 

For, though conquered, they adore it. 
Love the cold, dead hands that bore it. 
Weep for those who fell before it, 
Pardon those who trailed and tore it. 
And oh ! wildly they deplore it. 
Now to furl and fold it so. 

Furl that banner! true 'tis gory, 
Yet 'tis wreathed around with glory, 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 335 

And Hwill live in song and stor}^ 

Though its folds are in the dust, 
For its fame on brightest pages, 
Penned by poets and by sages, 
Shall go sounding down the ages, 

Furl its folds though now we must. 

Furl that banner, softly, slowly. 
Treat it gently — it is hoi}' — 

For it droops above the dead : 
Touch it not, unfold it never, 
Let it droop there, furled forever, 

For its people's hopes are dead. 




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